Austria Rejects US Military Flight Over Its Territory

Austria has rejected a request from the United States for a military flight over its territory since the start of the conflict in the Middle East in line with its policy of neutrality, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

"There is indeed a request and the request was rejected from the beginning," said Colonel Michael Bauer, adding that whenever a similar request "involves a country at war, the request is rejected," as reported by Al Arabiya from AFP (2/4).

Austria has been a neutral country since 1955. The country is surrounded to the north, south, and east by NATO members, with neutral Switzerland to the west.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has criticized European members of the trans-Atlantic alliance, such as France and Spain, who have refused to allow their airspace to be used for the war against Iran.

In mid-March, Switzerland, also referring to its neutrality, said it had rejected the use of its airspace.

It is known that the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, killing more than 1,340 people, including the late Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggering tensions in the Middle East.

In response, the State of the Mullahs retaliated with drone strikes and missiles targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf states hosting US military assets, causing casualties and infrastructure damage and disrupting global markets and flights, including tight control of the vital Strait of Hormuz through which 20 percent of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas pass.