French President Emmanuel Macron revealed that his country has deployed a radar system in the Arabian Peninsula to boost defenses in the region.
“In the Arabian Peninsula and Arab Gulf, where tensions are mounting, we have deployed in record time the Jaguar Task Force, which contributes to reassuring” allies, he said in a speech to the French military late on Thursday.
French officials said a radar system as part of the Jaguar Task Force mission had been deployed on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia facing the Gulf after missile attacks on the Kingdom’s oil infrastructure in September. They declined to give further details.
“The initiatives we take with our European partners help bolster maritime security in this strategic region,” Macron added.
The United States’ withdrawal in 2018 from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers and the reimposition of US sanctions has triggered an escalation in tensions over several months that briefly led to open conflict in January.
Paris has blamed Iran for carrying out the drone and missile attack, which crippled the world’s biggest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia, and had promised to provide assistance to prevent a repeat of the incident.
Also on Thursday, Macron announced that Paris will deploy the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and its battle group from January to April to support French military operations in Middle East.
“The aircraft carrier will support Chammal operations (in the Middle East) from January to April 2020 before deploying to the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea”, he stated.
