Italy Blocks U.S. Military Jets From Sicily Air Base, Joining European Revolt Over Iran War

What Happened

Italy last week denied permission for U.S. military aircraft to land at the Sigonella air base in Sicily before heading to the Middle East, according to Reuters, citing Italian government sources. The decision, first reported by Italian daily Corriere della Sera, involved what the newspaper described as "some U.S. bombers" that were due to land at the base in eastern Sicily before flying onward to the Middle East, where the United States is engaged in military operations against Iran.

According to a source who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, Italy refused permission on March 27. The source confirmed the Corriere della Sera report but did not specify how many aircraft were involved. The core issue: the United States had not sought prior authorization from the Italian government before the aircraft were already en route, violating the procedural requirements under longstanding bilateral treaties.

Why Italy Said No

The refusal hinges on treaty arrangements dating back to the 1950s. Under those agreements, the United States can use Sigonella — one of seven U.S. Navy bases in Italy — for logistical and training purposes. However, any use involving the transit of weapons or kinetic military operations requires authorization from the Italian parliament.

As Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni explained to parliament earlier this month, according to Defense News: "The bases used by the U.S. in Italy derive from agreements signed in 1954 and which have been updated since then by various governments. According to those agreements there are technical authorizations when it comes to logistics and non-kinetic operations that do not involve, put simply, bombing."

Because the U.S. requested landing permission only after the jets had already taken off, there was insufficient time for parliament to authorize the stopover, according to a defense ministry source cited by the Guardian. Italy's government framed the decision as procedural compliance rather than a political rebuke. A statement from Meloni's office said there were "no critical issues or frictions with international partners" and that relations with the United States were "solid and based on full and loyal cooperation."

Spain Goes Further

Italy's decision came just one day after Spain took a significantly more aggressive step. On Monday, March 30, Spain closed its airspace entirely to U.S. aircraft involved in strikes on Iran — going beyond its earlier refusal to allow the use of jointly operated military bases, according to Reuters.

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles stated, according to Defense News: "Neither the bases are authorized, nor, of course, is the use of Spanish airspace authorized for any actions related to the war in Iran." Robles added that the war was "profoundly illegal and profoundly unjust."

This effectively means that U.S. jets based in the United Kingdom or elsewhere in Europe must now bypass both Spain and Italy to reach targets in the Middle East — significantly lengthening transit routes and complicating logistics for an already stretched operation.

Trump responded to the growing European resistance on Tuesday, criticizing France on Truth Social for not allowing "planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory," calling the country "VERY UNHELPFUL," according to the Guardian.

Meloni's Balancing Act

The decision is particularly notable because Meloni has positioned herself as Trump's closest ideological ally in Europe. The far-right Italian prime minister has cultivated a strong working relationship with the U.S. president and has avoided the sharp rhetorical breaks that leaders like Spain's Pedro Sanchez have made.

But Meloni is navigating powerful domestic crosswinds. Opinion polls in Italy consistently show strong opposition to the Iran war and deep unpopularity for Trump among Italian voters, according to the Guardian. That opposition has begun to erode Meloni's own approval ratings.

Meloni has made her own position incrementally clearer in recent weeks. Earlier in March, she told parliament that the U.S.-Israeli strikes were part of a growing and dangerous trend of interventions "outside the scope of international law," according to Italian news agency ANSA. At the same time, she maintained that Italy "cannot afford a regime of ayatollahs in possession of nuclear weapons combined with a missile capacity" threatening Europe.

Her bottom line, stated directly to parliament and reported by Defense News: "We are not at war and we do not want to enter the war."

The Sigonella Flashpoint

Anger in Sicily has been building for weeks as military activity at Sigonella has visibly increased since the start of the Iran conflict. The situation escalated earlier this month when the U.S. Navy posted a photo on Instagram showing a U.S. military helicopter landing at the UNESCO-listed Madonie natural park near Palermo during a training exercise, according to Italian financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. Twenty-two local mayors protested the incident.

Italian opposition parties have seized on the issue. Giuseppe Conte, leader of the Five Star Movement, said Italy had "a duty" to deny the U.S. bombers access to Sigonella and called for the government to "take a further step" by denying logistical support at all Italian bases, according to the Guardian. Anthony Barbagallo, the Sicilian head of the center-left Democratic Party, praised Defense Minister Guido Crosetto's decision as "a significant and appropriate step," according to Reuters.

Nuccio Di Paola, a Five Star Movement politician in Sicily, said, as quoted by the Guardian: "Sicily does not want and will not contribute to any war. Sicily is a land of peace and must remain so … we cannot allow Sicilians to be put at risk because of our country's subservience to other countries."

The Bigger Picture

The Italy and Spain decisions represent a widening crack in the transatlantic alliance over the Iran conflict. Both countries are NATO members, and their refusal to provide basing or overflight access to U.S. military operations creates real operational complications. With France also restricting overflight for military supply flights to Israel, the United States is finding that its European infrastructure — built over decades of alliance cooperation — cannot be taken for granted when allies disagree with the mission.

The U.S. embassy in Rome had no immediate comment on Italy's decision, according to Reuters.