France and Great Britain, hostages in a war between the United States and Iran that they did not consult

The French and British in their countries they feel restlesswith military anti-terrorist protection operations roaming its streets and the “attack alert” at its maximum.

The French Vigipirate operation is deployed throughout the countrywith soldiers patrolling the streets with long weapons, uniforms, bulletproof vests and helmets. Residents are suspicious of boarding the subway, going to an airport or visiting tourist places, as in the worst days of the great attacks.

Anyone can be a target of Iranian sleeper cells. It won’t be the first time Iran turns to terrorism in its war against Israel and its allies in the Middle East or beyond its borders.

At least 300,000 British and 300,000 French live or have been trapped in the Persian Gulf in this dangerously expanding conflict. Now Iran attacks civilian targets in countries that never imagined that a war would make them targets.

Dubai, Abu Dhabi of Oman, an area rich in oil and gas, with thousands of European tax exiles ready to enjoy the security and sun of the desert.

They have been warned that Americans can be kidnapped in the Gulf hotels. The citizens of their allied countries may suffer the same fate, as happened with the kidnappings of Westerners in Beirut in the 1980s. They ask them the greatest precautions and care in their movements.

France is “ready” to “participate” in the defense of the Gulf countries and Jordan, targets of Iranian attacks, “in accordance with the agreements that bind it with its partners and the principle of collective legitimate defense,” its Foreign Minister declared on Monday.

“To the friendly countries that have been deliberately targeted by the Revolutionary Guard’s missiles and drones and dragged into a war they did not choose – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Jordan -, France expresses its full support and solidarity. “She is willing to participate in her defense,” declared Jean-Noël Barrot at a press conference. The minister called for a “de-escalation.”

President Emmanuel Macron spoke with his Lebanese counterpart on Sunday night, following Hezbollah’s attack on northern Israel and the violent Israeli retaliation in Beirut and southern Lebanon.

Britain is going to start an unprecedented evacuationwhich will begin by land and by sea in the coming days. From 72,000 initial expatriates in 24 hours they have increased to 300,000 British people affected in the Gulf.

The Kingdom had no interest in joining the extermination and regime change operation of Israel and the United States in Iran. He did not have permission from the House of Commons and the ghost of the Iraq war remains a terrible memory for the British, after lying about the presence of “weapons of mass destruction.” If they joined on Sunday it is in a “defensive position” and to let the United States use three British bases.

Starmer’s position is being used by populist Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, who accuses him of endangering the relationship with the United States.

The leader of the Reform UK party accused the prime minister of jeopardizing ties with Donald Trump and the White House after initially refusing to allow the United States to launch attacks on Iran from British bases.

Donald Trump told The Telegraph that is ‘very disappointed’ in Sir Keir Starmer for preventing him from using the Diego García base to launch attacks against Iran.

In an exclusive interview, the US president said the prime minister’s initial refusal to allow US forces to use the Chagos Islands base was something never seen “before between our countries”.

Britain had denied the United States permission to launch attacks from bases such as Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford, citing international law. However, the prime minister relented on Sunday night. He stated that he would allow the United States access to Diego García for “specific and limited defensive purposes.”

Trump stated that Sir Keir “took too long” to change his mind. “That’s probably never happened between our countries before,” he told The Telegraph, adding: “It seems he was concerned about legality.”

Now 80 percent of Britons believe Britain should take part in the Gulf War, when It has no logistics or money to carry it out.

Trump took the riskiest gamble of his presidency by launching a large-scale military operation against Iran. With Israel as the only allyand with Arab and Western countries refusing to participate, the American president has just unleashed a new war in the Middle East, with multiple objectives and unclear against one of the most populated countries in the region.

Trump barely bothered to explain the reasons for this new conflict to the American people, even as he deployed a huge military force to the Middle East in recent weeks.

Iran responded by attacking the British base in Cyprusa European country now involved in this conflict that the EU rejects.

Cyprus has ordered the immediate evacuation of a major airport, in a tourist destination widely visited by the British and close to Lebanon in the Mediterranean Sea.

This comes after an unidentified drone was detected within the restricted airspace of Paphos International Airport in Cyprus. Early in the morning, a British RAF base was also attacked in Cyprus. They seek to destroy their airstrip so that allied planes cannot take off.

Although no casualties were reported, relatives living on the British military base are being moved to a safer location on the island. EasyJet confirmed that all flights to and from Cyprus were canceled due to the incident.

Greece sent military ships and planes to Cyprus for protection.

Iran seeks to accentuate the contradictions between the allies and expands its attack in the Persian Gulf. But in a matter of hours, The attacks extended beyond US military installations. They moved on to the glass and steel hotels of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, to the luxury skyscrapers and state-of-the-art civilian international airports along the southern Gulf coast.

As of Monday morning, no place in the region except Oman had been spared Tehran’s fury.

It is a nightmare for countries closely aligned with the United States, which have spent decades cultivating reputations and economies based on being the most glamorous, safe and boringly predictable places from the Middle East. And, from Iran’s perspective, that’s the point.

“I think it’s obviously extremely important in terms of Iranian strategy. The Iranians hope that if they put pressure on the Gulf states, They will put pressure on the United States to stop the war,” says Danny Citrinowicz, former Israeli intelligence chief specializing in Iran.

“The situation is only going to get worse in the coming days. They are closing the Strait of Hormuz, they will skyrocket the price of oil,” he adds, referring to the narrow waterway at the entrance to the Gulf, through which a fifth of the world’s maritime exports of oil and liquefied natural gas pass.

Iran had clearly signaled that the Gulf countries, which for years have considered the Islamic Republic a regional “bully,” would be in its crosshairs if the United States and Israel attacked. But the magnitude of Tehran’s attack has been greater than its neighbors anticipated.

After the first 48 hours of war, the United Arab Emirates claimed to have been attacked with at least 165 ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and 541 drones. Qatar has reported the impact of at least 66 missiles; Bahrain, 45 missiles and several drones.

Max Hastings is one of Britain’s most brilliant military historians and journalist. In a column in The Times he asked: “Tell us, Trump, how does this operation in Iran end?”

“The invasion of Iraq and the intervention in Libya are reminders of the cost of attempting regime change in the Middle East,” he wrote. So far no one has the answer.