France, Italy, Spain Curb Some US Iran War Operations

France, Italy and Spain have restricted parts of US military activity linked to the war with Iran, exposing a widening split between Washington and key European allies.

Reuters reported Tuesday that France denied overflight access for military flights carrying US equipment to Israel, while Italy refused some American aircraft permission to land at the Sigonella base in Sicily. Spain went further by closing its airspace to US planes involved in strikes on Iran and limiting base access to NATO collective defense missions only.

The restrictions have frustrated both Washington and Israel at a sensitive point in the war. Israel’s defense ministry accused France of obstructing previously coordinated munitions transfers, while President Donald Trump publicly lashed out at European allies, accusing some of failing to support the campaign.

The moves do not amount to a complete European break with the United States, but they show that several NATO members are trying to distance themselves from direct operational involvement in a war many of them see as legally and politically fraught. Germany, by contrast, has continued to host major US military activity through Ramstein, even as legal and political debate continues there.

For Europe, the issue is not only Iran but also the precedent of being drawn into a broader conflict without clear alliance consensus. For Washington, the pushback complicates logistics, resupply routes and alliance messaging at a time when the US is trying to maintain military pressure while also testing diplomatic off-ramps.

The disagreement comes amid a deeper transatlantic argument over the purpose and limits of NATO. Reuters reported that the Trump administration has recently raised fresh doubts about the alliance’s mutual defense commitments, alarming European capitals already uneasy about the war and broader US unpredictability.

European governments have also faced domestic pressure over the humanitarian and legal implications of the conflict. Several capitals have tried to balance support for regional security and Israel’s defense with reluctance to be seen as directly enabling a prolonged or expanding war against Iran.

The restrictions by France, Italy and Spain may be limited in military terms, but politically they are significant. They underline that even within NATO, support for Washington’s Iran campaign is far from unified, and that the war is testing not only the Middle East, but the cohesion of the Western alliance itself.

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