French President Macron has reportedly decided to close French airspace to U.S. planes carrying aid to Israel, provoking the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump.
“France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the ‘Butcher of Iran’ who has been successfully eliminated! The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to Newsweek.
Macron has already said in the past that the U.S. and Israel attack on Iran violated international law.
France has not released any statement on the matter, but U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham posted on X his anger at least toward Spain, calling on Trump to punish the country for not aiding the fight against “the largest state sponsor of terrorism that has wreaked havoc on the world since 1979.”
Graham called for sanctions against Spain and also asked Trump to “close U.S. air bases in Spain and relocate to a country that allows these assets to be used to protect America and the world. The sooner this is done, the better.”
In addition, the Italian Air Force had reportedly informed the Defense General Staff that several U.S. aircraft were scheduled to land at the Sigonella military base before departing for the Middle East. However, no one requested authorization or consulted Italian military officials, and the aircraft were denied permission to land.
According to Corriere della Sera, this happened a few nights ago, but was kept confidential. Reports now indicate that Chief of Staff Luciano Portolano called Defense Minister Guido Crosetto to inform him of what had just happened and to make a decision that will inevitably impact relations between the two countries.
Since the report, however, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto denied Italian that the U.S. was blocked from using the Sigonella Air Base and Navy Installation to strike Iran.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also commented, saying: “Our relations remain solid.”
The initial report indicated that Portolano was informed, only after the American aircraft were already in flight, by the Air Force Chief of Staff that the flight plan for some of the U.S. planes called for landing at Sigonella before continuing on to the Middle East. There was reportedly no request for authorization nor consultations with the Italian military.
As the flight plans in question were not normal or logistical flights, therefore not covered by the treaties stipulated between Rome and Washington, Portolano, on Crosetto’s instructions, reportedly informed the U.S. Command that the aircraft could not land at Sigonella, as they lacked any authorization to do so and because there was no prior consultation with Italy.
According to sources, the type of authorization required for such a permission would in fact have to go through the Italian Parliament, meaning permission, even if it had been requested through the proper channels, would not have been able to be granted in time.
Meanwhile, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano, while Spain continues to deny use of its airspace to U.S. military aircraft flying to Iran, the Italian base in Aviano allowed for at least five flights of the Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy starting a week before the attack on Iran and up until March 3.
On March 11, Meloni told the Italian Senate that she had no intention of entering the war, calling it “one of the most serious international crises in recent decades and warned that the escalation reflected a broader breakdown in the international legal order,” according to Military.com.
