Italy denied U.S. military aircraft headed for the Middle East permission to land at its Sigonella air base in Sicily, according to local reports.
A U.S. flight plan for several bombers to land at Sigonella before departing for the Middle East was submitted without authorization or consulting the Italian military leadership, the local newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.
It added that the plan had been submitted while the U.S. planes were already in flight. The incident is reported to have occurred a few days ago.
It comes after Spain closed its airspace to U.S. planes involved in the Iran war on Monday. Spain’s defense minister Margarita Robles said: “We will not authorize the use of Morón and Rota [military bases] for any acts related to the war in Iran.”
She added that Spain had “made this clear to the American government from the beginning.”
This is a breaking story. More to follow.
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