France and Italy have shown reluctance to join American-Israeli operations against Iran, following Spain, sources said on Tuesday amid increasing divisions between Europe and the United States, despite being NATO allies.
A few days after President Donald Trump called his European NATO allies “cowards” for not supporting the American war effort, he again criticized some countries, including France.
“The France did not allow the planes heading to Israel, loaded with military equipment, to fly over its territory. France was VERY UNHELPFUL regarding the ‘Butcher of Iran’, who was SUCCESSFULLY eliminated! The United States WILL REMEMBER,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social social media platform.
A Western diplomat and two informed sources confirmed that France did not authorize Israel to use its airspace to transport American weapons destined for the war against Iran.
This is the first time that Paris has made such a refusal since the start of the war in Iran on February 28, the sources added.
“We are surprised by this tweet,” the Elysée Palace responded. “France has not changed its position since day one, and we confirm this decision that is in line with the French position since the beginning of this conflict.”
SPAIN’S SHARP CRITICISM
Italy, for its part, refused to authorize American military planes to stop at the Sigonella airbase in Sicily before heading to the Middle East, said a source familiar with the decision, confirming a report in the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
The newspaper did not specify when the planes were supposed to land. It reported that the authorization was denied because the United States did not request it in advance and Italian military officials were not consulted, as required by the treaties governing the use of American military facilities in the country.
Spain said on Monday that it had closed its airspace to American planes participating in strikes against Iran, reinforcing its position against Washington after already refusing the use of its bases in the conflict.
Spain will only authorize the use of its bases if it serves the “collective defense” of NATO allies, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on Tuesday, specifying that the refusal to allow the use of Spanish airspace by American planes involved in the conflict with Iran has been in effect since the beginning of the war on February 28.
At the beginning of the month, furious over Madrid’s refusal regarding the use of Spanish bases, President Donald Trump declared that the United States would end all its trade exchanges with Spain.
Madrid is not afraid of retaliation, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares retorted in an interview on public broadcaster TVE.
“We are absolutely not afraid. How could a country be afraid of anything when it is defending international law, world peace, and the United Nations Charter? In what kind of world would we live if those who should be afraid are those who respect the law?” he added.
Britain was also not spared by Donald Trump, with the American president calling it useless at a time when Buckingham Palace confirmed that King Charles III and Queen Camilla would make a state visit to the United States at the end of April.
“To all those countries that cannot get fuel due to the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to participate in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: first, buy it from the United States, we have plenty, second, find the courage you lack, go to the strait and TAKE IT, simple as that,” the American president wrote on Truth Social.
In retaliation for the attack triggered on February 28 by the United States and Israel, Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil transport passes.
This blockade has sent global oil prices soaring, forcing an increasing number of countries to adopt measures to protect their economies and leading to downward revisions of growth forecasts worldwide.
(Angelo Amante and Giselda Vagnoni in Rome, Charlie Devereux and Emma Pinedo in Madrid, and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Bertrand Boucey)
