An Iranian drone crashed into the British RAF base at Akrotiri in Cyprus on Sunday, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said.
The UK Ministry of Defence reported a “suspected drone strike” at RAF Akrotiri at about midnight local time (22:00 GMT). There were no casualties and the base sustained “minimal damage”, but the MoD said family members at the base would be moved to alternative accommodation as a precaution. “Our force protection in the region is at the highest level and the base has responded to defend our people,” the MoD added.
The incident comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK had agreed to a US request to use British military bases for “defensive” strikes. An MoD spokesperson said on Monday morning that the base and personnel “continue to operate as normal protecting the safety of Britain and our interests.”
The Sovereign Base Areas Administration confirmed plans for the “temporary dispersal of non-essential personnel” from RAF Akrotiri Station. The notice applies only to the military base; residents of the nearby Akrotiri village do not need to leave and “all other locations, workplaces, businesses and facilities will remain open as normal.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she had been briefed by Christodoulides and stressed the EU “stand[s] collectively, firmly and unequivocally with our Member States in the face of any threat.”
Iran has responded to earlier tensions by firing ballistic missiles and launching drones at US assets and allied countries across the region, including strikes targeting Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Defence Secretary John Healey said British troops and civilians in the Middle East were being put at risk by “indiscriminate attacks” from Iran.
Healey also said two ballistic missiles were fired towards Cyprus earlier, though he was “pretty sure” Cyprus was not the target. A Cypriot government spokesman said Sir Keir had “clearly confirmed that Cyprus was not a target” during a call with Christodoulides.
On Sunday, an RAF Typhoon jet operating from Qatar shot down an Iranian drone during a “defensive air patrol,” the MoD said — the first time a UK fighter has shot down an Iranian drone since the US and Iran strikes began. Earlier, a UK counter-drone unit in Iraq intercepted an Iranian drone heading toward a coalition base housing UK personnel.
Sir Keir said the UK had learned lessons from the “mistakes of Iraq,” and that it was not involved in the initial strikes on Iran and would “not join offensive action now.” He said the decision to allow US use of British bases was based on “collective self-defence” of allies and protecting British lives, accusing Iran of pursuing a “scorched-earth strategy.”
The BBC understands the US is likely to use RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for strikes on Iranian missile sites.
