French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné announced on Sunday that he would summon the Iranian ambassador to France on Monday to
“send a message of firmness”
after the Iranian strikes carried out during the night from Saturday to Sunday against Israel.
“Tomorrow, I asked the services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to summon the Iranian ambassador to convey”
this
“message of firmness”
, declared the minister on Sunday on public television France 2.
“We must not reverse responsibilities
,” he added.
“It was the Iranians who attacked Israel. (...) Since 1979, Iran has put hatred against Israel at the heart of its diplomacy
.
The ambassadors of the United Kingdom, France and Germany also summoned
Tehran had earlier announced that it had summoned the ambassadors of the United Kingdom, France and Germany to protest against
"the irresponsible positions of certain officials of these countries regarding Iran's response to the series of actions of the Zionist regime against the nationals and interests of our country
,” according to a statement from Tehran published by the official Irna agency.
According to the Israeli army, Iran sent
“a swarm of 300 killer drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles” during the night from Saturday to Sunday.
France intercepted several of these projectiles in order to protect French bases in the region, in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates or Iraq, explained the minister.
“We have taken our responsibilities because we are actors in regional security
,” declared Stéphane Séjourné.
“The Iranian attack not only implicated Israel, but it also undermined the security of our forces and violated the airspace of our Arab partners
,” he continued, calling for
“de-escalation”
in the region.