France intercepted Iranian drones heading toward Israel during conflict: Defense minister

ISTANBUL

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu confirmed that the country's military forces intercepted multiple Iranian drones aimed at Israel during the recent conflict between the two countries.

Speaking during a parliamentary debate on the Middle East Wednesday evening, Lecornu said fewer than 10 drones were brought down by French forces as part of self-defense measures to protect military bases in the region.

“Our armies did not participate in the strikes on Iran. But we are protecting our bases in the region, in self-defense. Our deployed ground-to-air defense systems and Rafale aircraft intercepted several Iranian drones whose trajectory towards Israel was flying over our areas,” he said on X, referring to his remarks in the National Assembly.

He added that the interceptions were carried out either by air defense systems or by Rafale fighter jets during aerial patrols.

The minister also said that approximately 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones were launched by Iran against Israel during the 12-day war, which ended Tuesday with a ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump.

Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran on June 13, including military and nuclear facilities, alleging that Tehran was on the verge of producing a nuclear bomb, a claim denied by Iran.

While Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes, the US joined the conflict by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday.

After 12 days of aerial combat between the two regional arch-foes, Trump announced the ceasefire late Monday, which appears to be holding.