France has deployed Dassault Rafale fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates to protect its military installations from potential Iranian attacks, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced on Tuesday, March 3.
France maintains a significant presence in the UAE, including hundreds of navy, air force, and army personnel, with Rafale jets stationed at Al-Dhafra Air Base near Abu Dhabi.
“These Rafales and their pilots are mobilized to ensure the security of our facilities,” Barrot told BFMTV, referring to French operations over the weekend to neutralize Iranian drones. “They have conducted missions to secure the airspace above our bases.”
Barrot confirmed that a hangar at a French base in the UAE was struck by a drone on Sunday. He added that discussions are ongoing to determine how the country can defend itself against future attacks and protect French interests in the region.
He also clarified that France’s aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, is operating in the North Atlantic as part of a previously scheduled multinational exercise and has not been redirected to the Mediterranean.
The deployment follows U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday, March 1, which killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In response, Tehran has targeted U.S. allies and military assets across the Gulf.
Recent incidents in the UAE include a drone causing a fire at an oil industry zone in Fujairah on Tuesday, which was quickly contained, and a drone strike on a fuel tank terminal in Abu Dhabi on Monday, which did not affect operations.
Amazon reported that two of its UAE data centers were directly hit by drones late Monday, temporarily disrupting cloud services in parts of the Middle East.
As tensions escalate, European powers are taking additional measures to safeguard personnel and assets stationed in the Gulf.