The US urged the Maltese government to impose restrictions at the Freeport after the September 11 attacks to prevent the transporting of weapons of mass destruction, according to former US Ambassador Anthony Gioia.

Speaking to The Sunday Times on the 10th anniversary of the New York terror attacks, Mr Gioia, who was ambassador at the time, said:

“I remember telling the foreign minister (Joe Borg) that if a bomb passes through Malta and ends up in the US or Europe, it will make the Lockerbie bomb look like small fry. I would be fired and Malta would never get into the EU. I was speculating of course, but I wanted to raise the importance of being vigilant.”

“We were concerned things could happen. The people at the Freeport weren’t too happy because they took the term ‘Freeport’ quite literally. Customs were not allowed. But we convinced the Maltese, for the right reasons I believe, to become more aggressive in terms of what was going on and not give such a literal interpretation.”

His comments come in the wake of a series of US embassy cables released by Wikileaks which highlights America’s concern over Iranian cargo passing through Malta.

As part of its anniversary feature, The Sunday Times also speaks to former US Ambassador Douglas Kmiec, who talks about Malta’s increased significance to the US throughout the 9/11 decade, including the Arab Spring.

“It is obvious from the sizeable investment in our new embassy compound in Ta’ Qali that the US wants our particular diplomatic friendship with Malta to enjoy the very best of our resources.”

The Sunday Times also speaks to Maltese people who were in New York 10 years ago, including one man who saw the second tower collapse from his office.

The coverage even includes information about the one known Maltese victim of the attacks and the impact the past decade has left on the Muslim community.