France has deployed its advanced fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates amid rising tensions in the Gulf, as Paris moves to safeguard its military installations from potential Iranian strikes.
Speaking on Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed that Dassault Rafale jets are now flying over the UAE to protect French naval and air facilities.
France maintains a significant military presence in the country, with personnel from its navy, air force and army stationed there.
The Rafale aircraft are based at Al Dhafra Air Base, near Abu Dhabi.
“These Rafales and their pilots are mobilised to ensure the security of our facilities,” Barrot told BFMTV when asked about French operations over the weekend aimed at neutralising Iranian drones.
“They have carried out operations to secure the airspace above our bases.”
Barrot disclosed that on Sunday, “a hangar at a French base in the United Arab Emirates was hit by a drone”.
“Exchanges are multiplying to determine both how the country can defend itself against future attacks and how France can protect its interests there,” he added.
Meanwhile, France’s aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, remains in the North Atlantic as part of a previously scheduled multinational drill.
Barrot clarified that the vessel had not been redeployed to the Mediterranean and, to his knowledge, had not altered its course.
The latest developments follow weekend strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran, which reportedly resulted in the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Tehran has since retaliated by targeting American allies across the Gulf.
In the UAE, authorities reported that debris from a drone interception sparked a fire in an oil industry zone in Fujairah on Tuesday, though the blaze was contained.
A day earlier, a drone hit a fuel tank terminal in Abu Dhabi, igniting a fire but leaving operations unaffected.
US technology company Amazon also confirmed late Monday that two of its data centres in the UAE were “directly struck” by drones, causing disruptions to cloud services in parts of the Middle East.
