The United States has denounced European countries that refuse air access to its warplanes as the Iran war places the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) alliance under increasing strain.
France drew the ire of Donald Trump on Tuesday after Italy and Spain increased restrictions on the use of their territory by the US military.
The US president accused France of refusing to allow “planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies” to fly over French territory in a social media message.
“France has been VERY UNHELPFUL … The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
French officials declined to comment. However, France has previously said it was allowing US military aircraft involved in “operational support” to use its Istres airbase in southern France.
It stipulated to the United States that the “assets involved in no way take part in the operations conducted by the United States in Iran, but strictly in support of the defence of our partners in the region” and received “guarantees” to that effect, according to the defence ministry.
Trump’s broadside came hours after Italian media reported that US military aircraft were refused permission to land at the Sigonella airbase in Sicily in recent days.
Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto said that under a long-standing agreement with the US, some flights required special authorisation to land, and as this has not been sought, Italy had no other option than to refuse.
“The government continues to do what all Italian governments have always done,” Crosetto wrote on social media.
“I want to reiterate that there is no cooling or tension with the US, because they know the rules that have governed their presence in Italy since 1954, as well as we do.”
On Monday, Spain’s defence minister announced that the country had not allowed the use of its Morón and Rota military bases “for any acts related to the war in Iran” from the outset of the conflict.
Micheál Martin has, meanwhile, insisted that Shannon Airport was not being used by any US aircraft involved in the Iran war as a stop-off point to refuel.
“There’s no evidence that any military planes going to Iran are refuelling in Shannon. That’s not happening. Shannon is not used as a base for the Middle East war,” the Taoiseach said.
Speaking in Warsaw, he said the energy crisis was probably now “more severe” than the oil shocks of the 1970s. The Government had to be wary of not using up all its available “firepower” in its initial response to surging energy prices, so it could intervene in the budget and next winter if necessary, he said.
“We were very conscious that this could go on; no one is quite certain of what is around the corner, so we have to be cautious in terms of how we intervene,” he said.
The developments came amid rising tensions between France and Washington’s ally in the war, Israel, over its invasion of southern Lebanon.
Paris called an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council after three UN peacekeepers in the region were killed within 24 hours in unclear circumstances.
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the country’s personnel in the Unifil [United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon] operation had suffered “serious incidents”. And he accused Israeli forces of “security breaches and acts of intimidation” against UN personnel.
Meanwhile, a senior Israeli defence official announced Israel would halt all military procurement from France in preference to dealing with suppliers in “friendly” countries.
In comments that intensified concerns about the stability of the Nato alliance on Tuesday, Trump wrote on social media that the US would not militarily aid countries that “refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran”, naming the United Kingdom in particular.
“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you any more, just like you weren’t there for us,” Trump wrote.