Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday that France has deployed Rafale fighter jets over the United Arab Emirates to safeguard its naval as well as air bases against attacks by Iran.
France has hundreds of navy, air force, and army personnel based in the UAE. It has Rafale planes stationed at Al-Dhafra base near Abu Dhabi.
Barrot said to broadcaster BFMTV in response to a question on French action in the UAE over the weekend to neutralize Iranian drones, “These Rafales and their pilots are mobilized to ensure the security of our facilities.”
He stated, “They have carried out operations to secure the airspace above our bases.” Barrot on Sunday reported, “a hangar at a French base in the United Arab Emirates was hit by a drone.”
He added, “Exchanges are multiplying to determine both how the country can defend itself against future attacks and how France can protect its interests there.”
Barrot said that France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier had been in the North Atlantic, in a previously arranged multinational exercise, after he was questioned whether it had been dispatched to the Mediterranean.
He stated, “To the best of his knowledge, it had not changed course.” The United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on Saturday, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Therefore, Iran has replied by attacking US allies in the Gulf region.
The authorities indicated that the debris of an interception of a drone resulted in a fire that was contained in an oil industry area of the Fujairah emirate on Tuesday.
A drone hit a fuel tank terminal in Abu Dhabi on Monday, causing a fire, though operations were not affected.
