French minister warns against underestimating Iran's strategic capabilities
French minister warns against underestimating Iran's strategic capabilities
M.U.H
11/07/202519
French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu has acknowledged Iran’s deep strategic and technological capacity, cautioning Western policymakers against underestimating the country’s capabilities.
“We underestimate Iran’s strategic, technical, technological, and scientific depth—as well as its natural resources,” Lecornu told French magazine Le Club in an interview.
“We look at Iran as if it were a very small country,” he said, noting that the Islamic Republic “has survived since 1979 despite immense security challenges,” and has become adept at navigating international sanctions.
Lecornu’s remarks come after Iran delivered a mighty response to a US-Israeli aggression last month. On June 13, Israel carried out a clear and unprovoked attack against Iran, targeting and assassinating several senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.
Days later, on June 22, the United States escalated the conflict by striking three of Iran’s nuclear facilities—a breach of both the UN Charter and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. By June 24, following 22 waves of Iranian missile strikes on Israeli military bases, the Israeli regime declared a unilateral end to its aggression, a move publicly announced by US President Donald Trump.
The aggression came as Iran and the United States were in the middle of talks about Iran's peaceful nuclear program. Despite consistently stating that it has no intention of developing nuclear weapons, Iran has faced pressures and accusations mainly from Western states. Iranian officials maintain that their nuclear program is solely aimed at civilian use, under the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to which Iran is a signatory.
In his interview, Lecornu referred to US attacks on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, claiming that facilities at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow had suffered significant damage, adding that to fully assess the extent of the damage, “one would need to go underground.”
He further said that Tehran’s technical knowledge has advanced over the past two decades and is no longer vulnerable to setbacks through targeted assassinations. “Eliminating a few scientists no longer erases their entire knowledge—it merely creates fear and may delay the program,” he said.
He also noted Iran’s advances in missile technology, calling them “perhaps the most spectacular in recent years,” and stating that the country now has “complete mastery of missile propulsion.”
