France ready to ‘take part’ in defense of Gulf countries and Jordan against Iran

Times of Israel · Mar 2, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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France is “ready” to defend Gulf countries and Jordan against Iran if necessary, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Monday. His remarks came as key European ally Germany also spoke of readiness to defend its interests against Iranian assaults. Iran has launched a series of missile and drone strikes on several Gulf countries, saying it is targeting US bases, after being hit by a massive US-Israeli attack that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “To allied countries that have been deliberately targeted by the missiles and drones of the (Iranian) Revolutionary Guards and dragged into a war they did not choose — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Jordan — France expresses its full support and complete solidarity,” Barrot said. “It stands ready, in accordance with the agreements that bind it to its partners and with the principle of collective self-defense provided under international law, to take part in their defense,” he said. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms However, in an apparent criticism, Barrot said that the “unilateral” Israeli and US attacks in Iran should have been debated in the collective bodies set up for that purpose, such as the United Nations. “Everyone could have taken their responsibilities, because it is only by going before the (United Nations) Security Council that the use of force can acquire the necessary legitimacy,” Barrot told reporters after holding a meeting at the ministry in Paris. A black plume of smoke rises from a warehouse at the industrial area of Sharjah City in the United Arab Emirates following reports of Iranian strikes in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) Barrot said an estimated 400,000 French citizens were residents or currently visiting countries in and around the Gulf. He added that no French victims had been reported at this stage. Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Wadephul said that the German government does not intend to participate offensively in the US-Israeli campaign against Iran. “⁠We do not have the corresponding military resources, and the German government definitely has no intention of participating in any way,” Wadephul said in an interview with German media, after German officials were cited saying Berlin is seriously considering taking military action against Iran if it does not cease attacking countries in the region. Wadephul clarified that an E3 statement the night before condemning Iran’s attacks, and stressing the readiness of France, Germany and the United Kingdom to defend themselves and their allies, “means that our Bundeswehr soldiers, if attacked, would defend themselves. From the German perspective, there will be no further measures beyond this.” “The only thing we would do, of course, is take defensive measures by the soldiers we have deployed,” Wadephul said. Earlier, Israel’s Army Radio reported that Germany was seriously considering joining the US-Israeli campaign against Iran if the regime does not cease attacking countries in the region amid the conflict. Planning for possible military action with the United States is already underway, ranging from joining bombing sorties to providing military and aerial assistance, officials in Germany’s foreign ministry and members of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee told the radio station. The German embassy in Israel did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. A Eurofighter Typhoon (31 04) of the German Air Force arrives at the military air base in Laage, south of Rostock, northeastern Germany, during a demonstration as part of a press day on September 23, 2025. (Tobias Schwarz / AFP) Britain, meanwhile, agreed to let the US use its military bases to stage attacks against Iran after drones hit a UK base in Cyprus. France, Germany, and the United Kingdom said Sunday they were ready to defend their interests and those of their allies in the Gulf if needed. “Iran’s reckless attacks have targeted our close allies and are threatening our service personnel and our civilians across the region,” they said in a joint statement. “We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source,” they added. Fresh strikes were heard across the Gulf on Monday, including on the cities of Dubai, Doha, and Manama, as Iran’s army said it had used 15 cruise missiles in attacks on a US air base in Kuwait and vessels in the Indian Ocean. UN atomic agency says no nuclear sites hit, Iran disagrees The UN nuclear watchdog has no indication that Israeli and US attacks on Iran have hit any nuclear facilities, its chief told the agency’s Board of Governors, moments before Iran’s envoy said one had been targeted a day earlier. The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi attends the special meeting on Iran, initiated by Russia, prior to the IAEA’s Board of Governors meeting at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria on March 2, 2026. (Joe Klamar / AFP) Iran’s nuclear program has been among the reasons Israel and the US have given for the attacks, alleging Iran was getting too close to being able to make an atomic bomb. At the same time, what remains of Iran’s atomic facilities after the two militaries attacked them in June appears to have been largely spared in this campaign so far. “We have no indication that any of the nuclear installations… have been damaged or hit,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement to a meeting of his agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors. What that assessment was based on is unclear, since he also said his agency had not been able to reach its counterparts in Iran. Tehran has not let the IAEA return to its bombed facilities since they were attacked in June. “Efforts to contact the Iranian nuclear regulatory authorities… continue, with no response so far. We hope this indispensable channel of communication can be re-established as soon as possible,” he said. Moments later, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, told reporters outside the closed-door meeting that the sprawling nuclear complex at Natanz had been attacked. Natanz housed two uranium-enrichment plants that were attacked in June — an above-ground one that the IAEA says was destroyed and an underground one that was at least badly damaged, among other facilities. “Again, they attacked Iran’s peaceful, safeguarded nuclear facilities yesterday,” Najafi said. Asked by Reuters which facilities were hit, he replied: “Natanz” and left. This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Planet covered by a new roof at Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site on January 28, 2026. (Planet Labs PBC via AP) The Vienna-based IAEA held an extraordinary session on Iran on Monday at the request of Russia, a key ally of Tehran, following the same request by Iran over the weekend. Western countries led by the United States and Israel accuse the Islamic Republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. Tehran, which vows to destroy Israel, denies having such military ambitions, but insists on its right to this technology for civilian purposes. However, it has enriched hundreds of kilograms of uranium to a level a short technical step from weapons-grade that has no civilian use.