Italian officials have revealed that the government denied U.S. aircraft use of its Sigonella base in eastern Sicily for operations against Iran.
Italian Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto denied the planes access to the base last week because their flight plan was not communicated ahead of time and they had not applied for authorization to land, according to Corriere della Sera.
The minister acknowledged the situation via social media on Tuesday, but emphasized that the lack of authorization was standard procedure, not a political decision.
“International agreements clearly regulate and distinguish what requires specific Government authorization (for which it has been decided to always involve Parliament), without which it is not possible to grant anything,” Crosetto wrote.
He called reports that Italy has “decided to suspend the use of bases” for U.S. assets “simply false, because the bases are active, in use, and nothing has changed.”
Because the aircraft were not carrying out normal or logistical flights, their operations were not covered by the defense treaties between Italy and the United States.
Crosetto added, “I want to reiterate that there is no cooling or tension with the U.S., because they know the rules that have governed their presence in Italy since 1954 just as well as we do.”
The Italian government released a statement the same day reiterating that the country “acts in full compliance with existing international agreements and with the policy guidelines set out by the government to parliament.”
The statement said requests to use the military bases “are examined carefully, on a case-by-case basis” and added that there are “no critical issues or frictions with international partners.”
Trump did not directly comment on the Italian incident, but unleashed a tirade Tuesday morning on Truth Social against countries that “refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran.”
The president told those countries that if they are in need of oil following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, they should “build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.”
He added, “You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us.”
Spain announced Monday that it was issuing a broad ban on U.S. aircraft seeking to use its military bases for operations in Iran, a conflict Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has repeatedly criticized as misguided and unjust.
“This was made perfectly clear to the American military and forces from the very beginning,” Defense Minister Margarita Robles told reporters on Monday. “Therefore, neither the bases are authorized, nor, of course, is the use of Spanish airspace authorized for any actions related to the war in Iran.”
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“I think everyone knows Spain’s position — it’s very clear,” she added.
Economic Minister Carlos Cuerpo told radio Cadena Ser the same day that the ban on war planes in Spanish airspace is “part of the decision already made by the Spanish government not to participate in or contribute to a war which was initiated unilaterally and against international law.”