US President Donald Trump stated that Washington will remember Paris’s refusal to allow aircraft carrying military supplies to Israel to enter its airspace. He also cast doubt on US membership of NATO after major European allies refused to take part in the operation in Iran.
France denied access to Israeli aircraft carrying US weapons for the war in Iran for the first time at the weekend, with France becoming at least the third European country to obstruct US or Israeli military activity related to the war in Iran on its territory. Trump has criticised France’s decision, stating on his Truth Social account:
“The Country of France wouldn’t let planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory,” he said, adding: “France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the “Butcher of Iran,” who has been successfully eliminated! The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!!”
US and Israeli strikes on Iran have entered their fifth week and have driven a new wedge between the US and Europe, with many countries seeking to distance themselves from the conflict by refusing to support Trump, if not openly condemning the attacks.
In the meantime, after the allies’ refusal to take part in the conflict militarily, Trump called on NATO allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route carrying roughly 20% of global oil supplies. The allies responded reluctantly to this request; with pressure from the US, some agreed, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan, which is not a NATO member.
In addition to France, Italy blocked several US warplanes from landing at its base in Sigonella in eastern Sicily a few days ago, Italian media reported on Tuesday. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has criticised the war as “beyond the bounds of international law” and insisted that Italy was not participating in the conflict.
The latest events come after Spain confirmed on Monday it had blocked any US aircraft linked to the war from entering its airspace. Madrid had previously banned US aircraft and refuelling from the joint bases at Rota and Morón, near the southern cities of Cádiz and Seville, for attacks on Iran.
“Beyond not being there, it was actually hard to believe. And I didn’t make a big deal of it. I just said, ‘Hey’, you know, I didn’t push it too hard. I just think it should be automatic. We’ve been there automatically, including Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t our problem. It was a test, and we were there for them, and we would always have been there for them. They weren’t there for us,” the president said regarding the future of US membership of NATO.
He also criticised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for refusing to participate in the war against Iran, saying:
“You don’t even have a navy. You’re too old and had aircraft carriers that didn’t work,” he stressed, referring to the state of Britain’s fleet of warships.
The White House expressed growing frustration with its allies over the war, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling NATO a “one-way street” and criticising members for denying the US access to bases. In response to a question about whether he would reconsider US membership of the alliance after the conflict, Trump said it was “beyond reconsideration.”
“I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way,” he said.
