April 19 (UPI) — The mayor of Naples said a nuclear-powered U.S. submarine involved in attacks on Syrian targets last week should not have traveled through waters near the Italian city weeks before.
Mayor Luigi de Magistris lodged a complaint with Rear Adm. Arturo Faraone, head of the city’s port authority, on Monday, saying the USS John Warner was not welcome in Naples waters because the the city has a ban on nuclear-powered vessels or ones that can fire nuclear weapons.
“Our administration is not against anyone but it is in favor of policies of peace, disarmament and international cooperation,” de Magistris told Italian news agency ANSA.
The USS John Warner passed through the Bay of Naples in March after a NATO exercise. On Friday, it joined French and British military forces in targeted attacks on sites associated with Syrian chemical weapons production and storage.
But Faraone said the city doesn’t have jurisdiction over Italy’s territorial waters, that they fall under the defense department. He said the submarine stayed far enough away from the city’s nuclear-free zone.
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