Pete Hegseth accuses Nato countries of ‘free riding’ in combative address

Pete Hegseth has announced a review of the US military presence across Europe, in a combative address to Nato allies where he threatened to cut force numbers in countries spending the least on defence.

The US defence secretary, speaking at a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels, accused some countries of “free riding” and others of being shameful for not allowing their airbases to be used by US jets bombing Iran in the spring.

Though Hegseth’s remarks were delivered behind closed doors to a group of allies, including the UK’s new defence secretary, Dan Jarvis, they were briefed out by the Pentagon in its latest attempt to push Europe into raising military budgets.

Hegseth said it would be “a real review” in which “our annual Nato dues will be contingent on other countries meeting their defence spending targets” – meaning that in future, as far as the US was concerned, “Nato will be a two-way street”.

The Trump administration wants Nato members from Europe to take the lead in defending their own continent against Russia, and steadily lift defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035. All members apart from Spain signed up in principle at last year’s leaders’ summit in The Hague.

“It’s a review that some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colours,” Hegseth added, implying that US forces could be withdrawn from lower-spending nations or those struggling to meet the long-term target.

Cuts already under consideration include a redeployment of a third of the 150 US F-16 and F-15 jets designated for Nato, plus refuelling and reconnaissance aircraft, bombers and drones. Concerns have been raised that the changes could affect Nato’s ability to monitor Russian submarines in Europe and its wider deterrence to Moscow.

Mark Rutte, Nato’s secretary general, said Hegseth was trying “to keep the pressure on” with his outspoken remarks. “I’m happy he does this, because we need to speak the truth to each other,” added the former Dutch prime minister, who is considered to have a warm relationship with Donald Trump.

Last week, John Healey resigned as UK defence secretary after Keir Starmer would only commit to increasing UK military spending to nearly 2.7% of GDP by 2030. Healey had wanted the UK to reach 3% as a pathway to 3.5%.

Arriving at the summit, Jarvis, Healey’s replacement, said: “This is a moment of challenge,” but he had nothing new to say on overall defence budgets. Later in the day, the UK said it would spend £750m equipping Ukraine with drones and air defence missiles, funded by loans secured against Russian central bank assets.

Hegseth said he told Jarvis that it was unacceptable for Nato allies to be “standing at the end of a runway with a clipboard to decide what flies” – a reference to restrictions placed across Europe on US jets bombing Iran.

The UK allowed the US to strike Iranian missile launchers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, but most other European nations did not permit the US air force to fly over their territory or use their bases for bombing or refuelling.

It was a theme Hegseth touched on in his speech to his peers, complaining that while the US had “defended Europe for generations”, it got little in return when Trump said he wanted to use European bases to attack Iran in the spring.

He said: “Iranian targets threaten European interests even more directly than they threaten us, but too many of our allies said no, or tried to drown us in arcane legal debates, or criticised us publicly for doing what they aren’t prepared or able to do themselves. It was shameful.”