Austria Refuses US Military Overflights Citing Neutrality, Joining Growing European Backlash

Austria has rejected all US requests for military overflights of its territory since the start of the Iran war, citing its long-standing policy of neutrality, a defense ministry spokesperson confirmed Thursday.

Colonel Michael Bauer said requests have been received and refused from the outset, adding that every time a similar request involves a country at war, it is denied. Austria has been a neutral country since 1955 and is surrounded by NATO member states to the north, south, and east, with neutral Switzerland to the west.

In mid-March, Switzerland, also invoking its neutrality, said it had refused the use of its airspace for US military operations related to the conflict. On Tuesday, it emerged that Italy had also denied a US aircraft permission to land while it was en route to the Middle East for a combat mission.

Spain has banned all US military aircraft involved in the war from using its airspace and military bases, extending an earlier restriction that applied only to two American installations on Spanish soil. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares confirmed the expanded ban, stating that Madrid would block any US flights linked to the conflict from entering Spanish airspace. He said Spain should not do anything that could escalate the conflict, adding that the decision reflects the majority sentiment of Spaniards who oppose the war and aligns with UN principles.

The office of French President Emmanuel Macron expressed surprise at Trump's criticism of France as being very unhelpful for not allowing planes carrying military supplies for the conflict to fly over its territory.

Those decisions, as well as allies' reluctance to join a naval force to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz, led Trump to label NATO a paper tiger on Wednesday and say it was beyond reconsideration that the US would withdraw from the alliance. He said he was never swayed by NATO and always knew it was a paper tiger, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin knows that too.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed those comments, saying the US will have to reexamine its relationship with NATO after the conflict concludes. He said the value of the alliance for the United States will need to be reassessed.

Trump's comments were slammed by France's president on Thursday, who said the US president is undermining NATO by creating daily doubt about his commitment to the alliance. Speaking during a state visit to Seoul, Macron said that if you create daily doubt about your commitment, you hollow it out, adding that there is too much talk going off in all directions.

Written by Thorben Thiede