By John Irish
PARIS (Reuters) -France said on Wednesday it had mobilised its military resources in the Middle East to counter what it called the Iranian threat and Germany warned the region risked being set on fire after Tehran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel.
Iran said early on Wednesday that its missile attack on Israel was finished barring further provocation, while Israel and the U.S. promised to retaliate against Tehran’s assault as fears of a wider war intensified.
The United Nations Security Council will meet later in the day to discuss the escalation, but in a sign that Western states are looking to anticipate the worsening situation, Cyprus said it had activated a mechanism to allow third-country nationals evacuating the Middle East safe passage through the island.
“France condemns the attack on Israel by ballistic missiles fired from Iran. It reiterates its absolute commitment to the security of Israel. It participated through its military means in the Middle East to counter the Iranian threat,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
It gave no further details on what role it had played in countering the Iranian attack, but an official said France had participated on Tuesday night to stop Iranian missiles.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot spoke to his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken to coordinate diplomatic efforts and will hold talks in Berlin with his counterpart on Wednesday.
FRANCE SENDS WARSHIP TO EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
“Iran is risking setting the entire region on fire – this must be prevented at all costs. Hezbollah and Iran must immediately cease their attacks on Israel,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
Paris and Washington last week had attempted to secure a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon just hours before Israel launched air strikes that killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. France, Britain, Germany, Italy and the United States are due to hold talks on Wednesday evening.
The French ministry said it had convened a U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss the situation in the Middle East on Wednesday afternoon.
The French presidency said in a separate statement it would soon organise a conference in support of Lebanon and had asked the foreign minister to travel to the region. Paris was also taking all measures to help its citizens in the region, it said.
Paris sent a warship for the eastern Mediterranean on Tuesday after a helicopter carrier set off on Monday to position itself in case of mass evacuations.
So far, no country has sought Cyprus’s assistance for a large-scale evacuation of civilians, but Cypriot authorities have facilitated in moving personnel and isolated groups of people through Cyprus in recent days, spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said in a statement.
“We are closely following the situation, fully prepared to support evacuation operations as developments unfold,” Letymbiotis said.
(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Michael Perry, Editing by William Maclean)
Source Agencies
