PARIS, March ⁠3 (Reuters) - France is ready to ⁠defend its partners if they ‌request help after Iranian retaliatory strikes and ireserves its right to intervene, Foreign ​Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said ⁠on Tuesday. "This war... ⁠is dragging a number of countries ⁠in ‌the region into the conflict with which we ⁠have relations, defence agreements, and interests, ​including ‌military bases," Barrot told French ⁠broadcaster BFM ​TV. He added that French Rafale fighter jets carried out air ⁠operations to secure the skies ​above France's bases in the region. Around 400,000 French nationals are ⁠currently in the countries affected by the crisis in the Middle East and the French government ​is ready to ⁠fly back those most at risk ​using both commercial ‌and military flights, Barrot ​said. (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Dominique Vidalon)

Source: The Star March 03, 2026 08:30 UTC