France took a cautious stance on Friday regarding what the U.S. claims to be evidence proving that Iran supplied weapons to Houthis in Yemen, noting that it was still analyzing information at its disposal and pointing out the United Nations has not yet come to any conclusions.
“The United Nations secretariat has not, at this stage, drawn any conclusions. France continues to examine the information at its disposal,” French foreign ministry deputy spokesman Alexandre Giorgini said.
The United States presented on Thursday pieces of what it claimed to be Iranian weapons supplied to the Houthi militia, describing it as conclusive evidence that Tehran was violating UN resolutions.
The arms included charred remnants of what the Pentagon said was an Iranian-made short-range ballistic missile fired from Yemen on November 4 at King Khaled International Airport outside Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, as well as a drone and an anti-tank weapon recovered in Yemen by the Saudis, Reuters reports.
Since France’s President Emanuel Macron said Tehran should be less aggressive in the region a few weeks ago, tensions between the two countries have increased. Macron also called on Iran to clarify its ballistic missile program, which according to Giorgini, France remains concerned by.
He urged Tehran to abide fully by UN Security Council resolution 2231, which calls on Iran not to undertake activities related to missiles capable of delivering nuclear bombs.
France’s foreign minister will travel to Washington on Monday to take part in a discussion about Iran and is set to visit Tehran in January.