France shoots down Iranian drones aimed at the Emirates and sends its fleet to protect Cyprus despite Macron’s criticism of Trump

The British Akrotiri air base was attacked on Monday morning by a drone Shahed manufactured in Iran and allegedly launched by Hezbollah, a militia allied to the ayatollah regime, from Lebanon. The device hit the runway while two others managed to be intercepted.

The base is British territorial soil and the majority of its inhabitants are Cypriots, so the attack constitutes an attack on both EU citizens and NATO allies. In a televised speech on Tuesday night, Emmanuel Macron, president of the Republic of France, reaffirmed its commitment to the common defense.

Macron announced that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaullethe flagship of the French fleet, would depart from the Baltic where it is participating in deterrent maneuvers off Russia to redirect to the Mediterranean. Their objective is to form a “military coalition” that protects commerce and transit in the area.

On board the ship there are class fighter-bomber Rafalesystems anti-aircraft defense and a airborne radar. Furthermore, the Elysée has been in contact with the Cypriot president, Nikos Christodoulidesto send to the island batteries of protection systems against missiles and drones, which Cyprus lacks.

The frigate Languedoc will join this deployment, joining the British and Greek fleet already present in the Eastern Mediterranean. London has sent the destroyer HMS Dragonequipped with the Sea Viper missile system, and two Wilcat helicopters capable of launching Martlet missiles.

Greece, for its part, has sent four F-16 fighters and two frigates armed with Centaurs drone neutralization systems. These devices are capable of disable artifacts even when flying at low altitude to avoid radar.

Spain also cooperates with the anti-missile shield NATO operating a Patriot battery at the base Incirlikin southern Turkey. The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, confirmed that they carry out their function “normally.”

In addition, both the United Kingdom and France have been actively participating in the defense of the Persian Gulf territories attacked by Iranian retaliatory attacks. The French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, has confirmed that Rafale fighters intercepted drones aimed at the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The British Royal Air Force (RAF) has been participating in the interception of Iranian aircraft since the beginning of Operation ‘Epic Fury’. In the last 24 hours, your F-35B fighters have fought over Jordan for the first time.

Criticism of Trump and common defense

The military orders to participate in the protection of objectives attacked by Iran’s offensive have not prevented Macron from harshly criticizing the unilaterality with which the US and Israel They have conducted their operation. Both have been placed “at margin of international law“, he condemned, “something that we cannot approve.”

However, the French president blamed the ayatollah regime for persisting in its nuclear program. “History never mourns the executioners of its people. None will be regretted“, he concluded. And although he warned Israel about the danger of destabilizing the Middle East with an occupation of southern Lebanon, he held Hezbollah responsible for it.

This attitude of unconditional cooperation shows the contrast of Spain’s refusal to provide support to the operation even from a logistical point of view. Pedro Sánchez’s government refused to make the Rota and Morón bases available to US tankers, forcing them to move to other facilities.

The decision has unleashed the anger of the US president, who took advantage of his meeting with Friedrich MerzGerman chancellor, to describe Spain as a “terrible ally.” Donald Trump even threatened to use his powers to “stop all trade” between both countries and even mentioned a possibility of “seizure”.

Sánchez delved into the diplomatic clash on Wednesday morning, equating operation ‘Epic Fury’ with the invasion of Iraq 23 years ago. “You cannot respond to one illegality with another, so the greatest disasters of humanity begin“, he declared, while being defiant in the face of threats to the most vulnerable sectors.

However, Sánchez has not wanted to join the new nuclear deterrence plan for Europe championed by Macron either. And it has come into conflict in the last few hours with Germany over Merz’s attitude in the meeting with Trump. The chancellor tacitly endorsed the American threats by reproaching Spain for not increasing its share of GDP allocated to NATO.