France says it intercepted drones targeting Israel prior to Iran ceasefire

France’s military took part in efforts to stop Iranian drones targeting Israel prior to this week’s ceasefire, the country’s defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said late on Wednesday.

“I can confirm that the French army intercepted less than 10 drones in the last few days during the different military operations conducted by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel, either by ground-to-air systems or via our Rafale fighter jets,” Lecornu said during a parliamentary debate on the situation in the Middle East.

Lecornu stated that Iran had fired approximately 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel during the 12-day clash.

On June 13, Israel began assaulting Iran, stating its goal was to eliminate the nuclear capabilities of its main adversary. Its attacks eliminated a high-ranking tier of Iran’s military leadership and resulted in the deaths of multiple nuclear scientists. Iranian officials reported that 610 individuals lost their lives and almost 5,000 sustained injuries in the nation. Tehran’s missiles in retaliation resulted in at least 28 fatalities in Israel and caused extensive damage to numerous buildings, until a ceasefire was implemented on Tuesday.