Attack on a British strategic point in Cyprus, after London gave the green light to the Americans to use their military bases
British soldier at the Akrotiri base in Cyprus. Photo source: Petros Karadjias / AP / Profimedia
Britain's Akrotiri base in Cyprus was hit by a Shahed drone overnight, causing minor material damage, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday, Reuters quoted him as saying.
“I want to be clear: our country does not participate in any way and does not intend to take part in any military operation,” Christodoulides said in a statement.
Sources previously told Reuters that the Akrotiri Royal Air Force base was the target of two drones, one of which was intercepted.
Christodoulides said he was in constant contact with European leaders and others about developments.
Non-essential personnel evacuated
Non-essential personnel will leave Akrotiri air base after this attack, Cypriot authorities and the Ministry of Defense in London said, according to The Guardian.
A security alert issued to residents in the vicinity of Akrotiri by the British base's administration advised overnight residents to shelter in place until further notice “following a suspected drone strike”.
A spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense said the armed forces responded to the attack after midnight.
The attack came hours after Britain agreed to allow the United States to use British military bases to attack Iranian missile bases.
Britain has so far not been implicated in the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, but in a recorded statement late on Sunday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Iran's approach was becoming increasingly reckless and putting British lives at risk, leading to the decision to allow the United States to use two of its military bases.
Britain retains sovereignty over the territory of two bases in Cyprus, which is a member of the EU.
Akrotiri base, the most important base in the region
The base in Akrotiri, a British overseas territory since Cyprus' independence in 1960, is the UK's most important military base in the region, according to AFP.
The base of Akrotiri covers a broad, square-shaped peninsula located at the southern tip of the island in the eastern Mediterranean. The last time it was directly attacked was by Libyan militants in the mid-1980s.
According to information available on the website of the Ministry of Defense in London, the joint operating base is “used as a forward base for overseas operations in the Middle East and for fast aircraft training.”
London has recently deployed additional means, including anti-aircraft and anti-drone defense systems, radars and F-35 jets, notes France Presse.
“We all remember the mistakes made in Iraq”
Starmer said British forces would not be directly involved in the attacks and the bases would only be used for “specific and limited defensive purposes”, targeting missile depots and launchers used to attack Iran's neighbours.
“We all remember the mistakes made in Iraq and have learned from them,” the head of the British government emphasized.
But “Iran is attacking British interests and seriously endangering its citizens” and its allies in the region, Keir Starmer added. “The only way to end the threat is to destroy the missiles at their source — in the storage depots or the launchers used to launch those missiles.”
It is not clear which bases will be used, but US President Donald Trump has previously referred to a request to use Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.
