French minister criticizes US over ‘unanswered’ Iran attacks

France’s armed forces minister has given a forceful speech warning of the dangers of U.S. disengagement in the Middle East

France’s armed forces minister has given a forceful speech warning of the dangers of U.S. disengagement in the Middle East.

Florence Parly made the comments Saturday, addressing the annual Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.

Parly says while the Persian Gulf is “accustomed to the ebb and flow of U.S. involvement,” America has not pushed back against Tehran after a summer of tensions sparked by President Donald Trump withdrawing unilaterally from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

She said: “When the mining of ships went unanswered, a drone got shot (down). When that in turn got unanswered, major oil facilities were bombed. Where does it stop?”

Parly said France will continue to speak to Iran. But she also stressed: “We will stand by our allies. You can count on us.”