Italy denies US aircraft access to military base for Iran operations — second NATO ally after Spain

Italy denied a US request to use the Sigonella air base in Sicily for bombers heading to the Middle East, Corriere della Sera reported on March 31, confirmed by BBC. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto denied authorization after learning of a US flight plan involving aircraft that were due to land at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily before continuing toward the Middle East. The plan was reportedly communicated while the aircraft were already in flight, with no prior approval requested from Italian authorities. The request involved bombers, which require specific Italian parliamentary oversight — not covered by routine bilateral agreements. Italian government did not comment publicly; the defense minister's office was not immediately available. The denial is consistent with Italy's cautious posture — UNIFIL's largest contributor, Crosetto had already condemned Israeli attacks on peacekeepers as 'neither tolerable nor acceptable.' Sigonella (NAS Sigonella) is a critical US military logistics hub in the central Mediterranean and the primary staging area for US ISR operations across North Africa and the Middle East. It is also known as 'the hub of the Med' — its denial to US bombers is operationally significant. Italy joins Spain (airspace + bases closed) and France (supply flights blocked per Trump) in a widening European coalition of war-operations objectors within NATO.