France leads as Europe bolsters Middle East defenses

France said it is dispatching warships, led by its aircraft carrier strike group, to the Mediterranean and Red Sea and, if required, into the Strait of Hormuz, as part of a defensive move to bolster allies in the ongoing Middle East conflict, which reached its 11th day on Tuesday.

The deployment was announced on Monday as the United States dispatched more of its assets to Europe with three B-52 bombers arriving at the RAF Fairford military base in the United Kingdom, after London cleared US use of British bases.

While in Cyprus ahead of a visit to the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, which reached the eastern Mediterranean on the weekend, France President Emmanuel Macron reassured his Cypriot counterpart after drones approached the island last week.

"When Cyprus is attacked, then Europe is attacked," Macron said following a meeting with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos.

European powers have found themselves largely on the sidelines as the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran, has intensified. But as Middle East shipping lanes have been disrupted, causing oil prices to surge past $100 a barrel, European states have been forced to rethink how to safeguard their interests, reported Reuters.

Macron said: "Our objective is to maintain a strictly defensive stance, standing alongside all countries attacked by Iran in its retaliation, to ensure our credibility, and to contribute to regional de-escalation. Ultimately, we aim to guarantee freedom of navigation and maritime security."

In all, France would deploy eight warships, the aircraft carrier group and two helicopter carriers to the region, he added.

After the meeting with Macron, Mitsotakis, confirmed that the European Union's naval mission Aspides, or Shields in Greek, is also being reinforced with additional vessels.

The US B-52s that arrived at the UK base Fairford add to a growing bomber footprint in the UK following weekend B-1 arrivals. These long-range aircraft are able to carry large payloads of advanced cruise missiles.

A C-5 Super Galaxy transport aircraft was photographed at the base on Friday. The largest aircraft in the US inventory, it can carry loads such as two M1 Abrams tanks, six Apache attack helicopters, or up to 36 military vehicles.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US will use British RAF bases to "dramatically" step up strikes on Iran after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorized defensive operations from UK-US bases. The UK government said it is unlikely to dispatch one of its two aircraft carriers to the Middle East despite France's "unprecedented" naval deployment as the Iran crisis intensifies. However, the UK's HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier was put on advanced readiness on Saturday, cutting time to sail to five days from 14, sparking speculation about a Mediterranean mission to help shield the RAF Akrotiri military base in Cyprus or a Gulf deployment to protect UK interests.