ISTANBUL

France will not host US military aircraft at its bases in the Middle East, the French military command said Thursday, denying earlier media reports.

“The information about so-called US assets being deployed to our bases in the Middle East is incorrect,” a spokesperson for the Chief of the Defense Staff said.

However, US military aircraft to be used in supporting operations, and not fighter jets, have been temporarily authorized to station at the Istres Air Base in southeastern France, the military told Franceinfo.

According to the French Armed Forces, the presence of the aircraft is part of a “routine procedure within the framework of NATO,” the transatlantic military alliance comprising several European and North American countries.

Given the tensions surrounding ongoing US military operations against Iran, France demanded that the aircraft “not participate in any way” in operations conducted by Washington against the country.

Instead, the assets must be used “strictly to support the defense of our partners in the region,” the spokesperson said, adding that Paris had obtained “full assurance” that this condition would be respected.

The clarification came after earlier reports suggested that US aircraft could be hosted at French bases in the Middle East, information that was widely circulated by several media outlets before being denied by the French military.