Paris — France has scrambled its Rafale fighter jets over the United Arab Emirates to defend its military installations and allied airspace as the region teeters on the brink of a broader war, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed Tuesday.
The multirole Rafale warplanes, based at the French air base in Al Dhafra near Abu Dhabi, have been placed on active duty to safeguard French naval and air facilities from Iranian missile and drone strikes, Barrot told BFMTV.
“These Rafales and their pilots are mobilised to ensure the security of our bases and airspace,” Barrot said, stressing that the jet deployments are defensive in nature. French forces also shot down hostile drones over the weekend in actions aimed at neutralising threats to French and allied troops.
The move comes amid an intense regional conflict triggered by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, including the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei late last week — a development confirmed by multiple international sources and acknowledged by Iranian state media.
In retaliation, Iran
has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and armed drones across the Gulf region, targeting U.S. military facilities and allied nations. The UAE has intercepted most of the barrage but has sustained casualties and infrastructure damage, including at fuel terminals and residential areas in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.French officials also confirmed that an Iran-linked drone struck a hangar at France’s UAE naval base, causing material damage but no reported casualties.
The conflict’s ripple effects hit beyond military targets: Amazon’s cloud services reported disruptions after drones struck data centres in the UAE and Bahrain, affecting internet users across the wider Middle East.
Barrot added that Paris is in ongoing consultations with Gulf allies to strengthen air defences and adapt its posture as attacks continue. France, along with other Western nations, has signalled readiness to defend its partners if further Iranian aggression unfolds.
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Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence warns of possible further Iranian retaliation against allied countries and American interests worldwide — underscoring the danger that this regional crisis could widen into a larger conflagration.
