LE MONDE, Paris, has carried a sensational report to the effect that France has agreed to lease five Exocet-armed super Etendard jets to Iraq. If this report is accurate which there is no reason to doubt, this is the first time that France has taken such a dramatic step in favour of Iraq. France has sold Mirage F-ls and other military hardware worth four billion pounds to Iraq during its current war with Iran. But the decision to lease the Etendard jets is an altogether different matter. The Etendard-Exocets combination is deadly.
France is treating the matter as being extremely urgent. According to Le Monde, the planes are being taken from France’s carrier-borne tactical nuclear force. The Iraqi deputy prime minister, Mr. Tarek Aziz, made a request for these weapons during his recent visit to Paris. Iraq is not in a position to pay for them, at present. Apparently France is prepared to take great risks in its long-term relations with Iran which it would in all probability not have been willing to do unless it expected substantial gains in Arab countries, especially in Saudi Arabia.