Italy denies United States bombers access to Sicily air base

 ROME - Italy blocked two United States bombers en route to Iran operations in the Middle East from making a stopover at Sigonella air base, said defence ministry sources.  

 The Italian government argued the denial was in line with existing United States-Italy treaties, which require Rome to seek parliamentary approval for operations that are offensive in nature. 

 So-called ‘non-kinetic’ operations, such as logistical, surveillance, and training activities, do not require prior authorisation from the Italian authorities, and appear to be ongoing at the Sicilian base.

 As first reported by the Italian Insider, a United States MQ-4C Triton launched from the Sigonella on March 29, with open-source analysts at the paper tracking the drone as it flew east before conducting surveillance sweeps of Iran’s coastline. 

 The bomber landing requests occurred two days earlier, on March 27, undermining claims the decision is indicative of a significant shift in Rome’s stance towards United States use of Italian bases for Iran operations.

 Spain, in contrast, has completely closed its airspace to American planes involved in the conflict.

 The bilateral agreements governing access to Italian bases are controversial, with critics claiming the lines between defensive and offensive operations in modern warfare are increasingly blurry.