The Guardian · US news · Original story
Pete Hegseth accuses Nato countries of ‘free riding’ in combative address
US defence secretary addresses allies in latest attempt to get Europe to raise military budgets
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.
Continue reading...
Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor · Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 11:23 AM
US news | The Guardian
US defence secretary addresses allies in latest attempt to get Europe to raise military budgets
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.
Continue reading...This page shows an excerpt; reporting belongs to the original publisher. Some images or embeds may be omitted compared with the live article.
← More stories · Front page
