Jaishankar's letter to France over Rafale deal leaked? Ministry of External Affairs fact-checks claim

The Ministry of External Affairs dismissed on Thursday (11 December) the viral letter regarding the Rafale deal as fake. The letter claimed that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had written to the Embassy of France, warning that information about the Rafale delivery had been leaked.

What did the viral letter claim?

The letter, purportedly written by Jaishankar, stated that certain communications regarding the Rafale naval aircraft timeline had been made public. Further, it said that this unintended disclosure had created unforeseen challenges.

The fake letter was signed by the Minister of External Affairs. It was dated 26 November 2025 and was addressed to Thierry Mathou, the French Ambassador to India.

The viral fake letter read, "I hope this message finds you well. It has come to our attention that certain communications concerning the Rafale naval aircraft timeline have recently emerged in the public domain."

"While we fully understand the complexities of such arrangements and the detailed processes involved, the unintended disclosure has created some unforeseen challenges for us, given the nature of our extensive collaboration," it stated.

According to an image shared by the Ministry of External Affairs, the "fake" letter was shared by an X account named ‘Discourse Lab,' which claimed, "Jaishankar's letter to France confirms one thing: the Rafale controversy is far from over. New Delhi is struggling to contain the fallout of leaked communications."

What was the MEA's response?

The MEA rejected the viral letter, saying, “The letter being referred to in this post is fake.”

“Always stay alert against disinformation,” the ministry warned.

What is the Rafale controversy?

Rafale is a French twin-engine multi-role fighter jet designed and built by Dassault Aviation. The Rafale jets are considered one of the most potent combat jets globally.

India began the process to buy a fleet of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) in 2007 after the Defence Ministry, headed then by Congress leader AK Antony, cleared the proposal from the Indian Air Force.

In 2016, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government signed a ₹59,000 crore deal to procure 36 Rafale jets from Dassault Aviation.

Several allegations have been made related to the deal, including that the rates of aircraft rates were inflated and charges of corruption.

Later, the controversy was ignited after a French journal reported that Dassault Aviation paid €1 million to Sushen Gupta as a middleman for the deal.

The government has defended the 2016 deal on several counts, including the faster delivery of the fighter jets. Meanwhile, Dassault Aviation has clarified that the deal went through numerous checks and no violations were reported.

India and France signed a €7.87 billion (approximately ₹59,000 crore) deal on 23 September 2016 for 36 Rafale jets. The delivery of the aircraft will start from September 2019. The deal was finalised on the basis of the procurement procedure followed under the UPA government.