Spain said on Monday that it had closed its airspace to US planes involved in airstrikes on Iran. The move angered Trump, who described NATO allies as “cowards.”
In a report on Tuesday, Reuters cited sources familiar with the matter stating that France has also refused to allow Israeli aircraft carrying US weapons to cross its airspace. France reportedly refused the request over the weekend.
The US president reacted to the decision in a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, warning that Washington “will remember.”
The decision in Paris came after Italy last week denied permission for US military aircraft to land at the Sigonella air base in Sicily before heading to West Asia, according to the report.
Some US bombers had been due to land at the base in eastern Sicily before flying to West Asia.
Poland also said recently that it has no plans to relocate one of its Patriot batteries.
Washington had previously claimed that Warsaw was considering sending the system to help shore up air defenses in the region.
In a similar move, Portugal has adopted a cautious stance on US use of the Lajes Air Base in the Azores, according to Press TV.
European leaders are increasingly turning down Trump’s requests to use their airspace, as closing large parts of southern European airspace would force US bombers based in the UK to take a longer route to the Persian Gulf.
This would add time, put extra strain on flight crews, and require more aerial refueling.
This comes as the US had already suffered a tanker setback earlier in the war, when Iraqi resistance groups downed a KC-135 in an incident that killed all six crew members aboard.
MNA
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