PARIS, March 24. /TASS/. The United States’ unpredictability is impacting Europe’s security and strategic interests, French Chief of the Defense Staff Fabien Mandon said.
"The United States remains our ally, but is becoming less and less predictable as it doesn’t think it necessary to warn us when making decisions on military operations. This affects our security and our interests," he said at a security forum at the Paris Military School. "They have just decided to interfere in the Middle East without warning us."
He also recalled the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, "which was carried out without any coordination." "Let me recall that the Europeans were present there at the Americans’ request, who cited Article 5 of the NATO Charter," he pointed out.
The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.