France confirms military non-involvement in Iran's strike against Israel

French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu has said that French military forces did not participate in countering the missile strike launched by Iran against Israeli territory on October 1.

He responded negatively to a question about whether the Rafale fighters stationed in Jordan were used to intercept this attack, as they had been in April when they assisted in shooting down drones aimed at Israel, Caliber.Az reports, citing Lecornu’s interview with the French newspaper.

"The type of missiles launched against Israel and their flight trajectory did not necessitate any interceptions on our part," the minister said.

Iran has launched an unprecedented attack against Israel, firing a barrage of missiles at the country in the latest escalation amid weeks of soaring violence and tensions in the region. 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on October 1 that it fired missiles at Israel in response to deadly Israeli attacks against people in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the assassinations of top IRGC, Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. 

Alarms sounded in Israel on October 1 evening as the missiles fell on major cities and towns. Israel and its top ally, the United States, said their respective militaries worked together to shoot down most of the nearly 200 projectiles that were fired by Iran.

The Israeli army said only a “few” hits were recorded in central and southern parts of the country while two people were injured from falling shrapnel in the Tel Aviv area, according to Israel’s emergency service.

By Naila Huseynova