Italy has reportedly denied the United States permission to use the Sigonella air base in Sicily for a number of military flights bound for the Middle East.

The report, first published by Corriere della Sera, concerns a decision that was allegedly kept under wraps for several days and could have significant implications for relations between Rome and Washington.

According to the newspaper, the issue came to light after Italy’s Chief of Defence Staff, Luciano Portolano, was informed by the Air Force command that several US military assets were planning to stop at Sigonella before continuing on to the Middle East.

The key issue, according to the report, was that the operation had allegedly been arranged without prior authorization from the Italian authorities.

The situation is said to have become even more sensitive because the information only reached Italian officials after the US aircraft had already taken off. At that point, Italian military authorities reportedly launched checks to clarify the nature of the mission.

What emerged, according to the report, was that these were not simple logistical flights but operations of a different kind — and therefore not automatically covered by the bilateral agreements currently in force between Italy and the United States.

In light of that assessment, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto is said to have instructed the military to prevent the aircraft from landing at Sigonella.

The move is also consistent with Crosetto’s previous public position in Parliament, where he had said that any military operation falling outside treaty boundaries would require parliamentary oversight and authorization.

According to Corriere della Sera, the aircraft listed in the US flight plan were also subject to a specific operational caveat, meaning they were not allowed to land unless in an emergency.

The episode inevitably recalls the historic Sigonella crisis of 1985, when then-Prime Minister Bettino Craxi clashed with the United States under President Ronald Reagan in one of the most tense diplomatic standoffs in post-war Italian history.