The Iran war has just for the first time, and rather quickly given it's only the third day of the conflict, expanded to include an EU nation in the Mediterranean. Iranian-made drones have reached Cyprus and at least one has made ground impact. But they may have been launched from nearby Lebanon.
The British Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Akrotiri, Cyprus came under attack Monday morning, with an Iranian drone striking the runway in the early hours, several reports say. This comes as Britain has mulled directly joining Trump's Iran operation, but now appears to be pulling back from the prospect.
"Our force protection in the region is at the highest level and the base has responded to defend our people," a British Ministry of Defence spokesperson has told international media.
Hours after the initial salvo, two more unmanned aerial vehicles were successfully intercepted while inbound over the same base.
"Our armed forces are responding to a suspected drone strike at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus at midnight local time," the MoD statement continued. "Our force protection in the region is at the highest level and the base has responded to defend our people."
The RAF is now taking emergency precaution measures is at least partially evacuating the base after a prior build-up:
The attacks on Akrotiri, a British sovereign base area, comes after the RAF recently moved additional defensive capabilities to the location—including radar systems, anti-drone defenses, and F-35 jets—as part of ongoing efforts to support stability in the Middle East.
Showcasing the widening impact of the Iran conflict, an airport in Paphos, Cyprus, was later evacuated after a suspect object was picked up on radars.
Cooper spoke of the “international” threat Monday morning and expressed the importance of recognizing “the responsibilities we have around defensive support for areas where there are British citizens."
Cooper further said that in private conversations with officials throughout the Gulf region, the leaders expressed they were "frankly shocked and horrified at the way their countries have been targeted by Iran over the weekend."
Family members of UK military members have been ordered to leave the base as it is now clearly being targeted:
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