Italy refused US war planes access to airbase, claims ‘no frictions’ with White House

Published March 31, 2026 12:24pm ET



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.

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