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2026 drone strikes on Akrotiri and Dhekelia

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2026 strikes on Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Part of the 2026 Iran war
2026 drone strikes on Akrotiri and Dhekelia is located in Cyprus
2026 drone strikes on Akrotiri and Dhekelia
2026 drone strikes on Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Cyprus)
Date1 March 2026 – present (5 days)
Location
Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Cyprus
Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Iran[1]
Hezbollah[2]
Defensive/precautionary:
Casualties and losses
Per defensive coalition:
3 drones shot down by Greece and United Kingdom		 Unknown

On 1 March 2026, a drone, believed to be from either Iran or its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, hit the RAF Akrotiri base on the island of Cyprus. Additional drones launched on 1 March and 4 March toward Cyprus were intercepted. The attacks occurred during the broader war between Iran and both Israel and the United States.[10]

Background

After Cyprus became an independent state in 1960, the British retained territorial control of two military bases on the island, thereby forming the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. Militaries with a presence on Cyprus include Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Before the strikes in 2026, Cyprus was last targeted in 1986, when pro-Libyan militants attacked the British base at Akrotiri, injuring three British military dependents. Prior to that, Cyprus had last been attacked directly by a foreign country during the 1974 Turkish invasion that led to the partition of the island.[11][12] As the broader Middle Eastern crisis enveloped the region in the 2020s, concerns about the Cypriot security situation also developed.[13][14][15] At the time of the 2026 strikes, up to 300,000 British nationals were visiting or living in the Gulf region.[16]

In June 2024, Hassan Nasrallah, then Secretary-General of Hezbollah directly threatened to strike Cyprus if it was to be used by the Israeli military as a base to attack the group.[17]

On 6 February 2026, amid heightened tensions in the region, the UK deployed six F-35 Lightning II jets to RAF Akrotiri, joining 10 Eurofighter Typhoons already at the base.[18]

On 28 February Israel and the United States conducted airstrikes on Iran in the culmination of a two-month-long geopolitical crisis. In response, Iran began launching strikes against various regional countries in response. Initially, British prime minister Keir Starmer stated that the United Kingdom would not be involved in the conflict, denying American requests to use British military bases for the operation. British defence secretary John Healey refused to state whether the United Kingdom supported the Israeli-American attacks.[19] As Iran's retaliation escalated, endangering regional British allies, assets and tourists,[20] On 1 March at 21:00 (UTC),[21] Britain agreed in a recorded statement to let the United States access these bases for strikes on Iranian missiles and launch sites, but excluded use for strikes on political and economic targets in Iran.[22][23]

Incidents

On 1 March at 22:03 (UTC),[11] a "kamikaze" drone[24] struck the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Akrotiri, hitting a hangar[25]. The attack prompted a partial evacuation of the facility.[23] Nikos Christodoulides, the president of Cyprus, stated that the Shahed-type aircraft caused minor damage. The president stated that the drone was Iranian.[19] Later in the day, British forces intercepted two drones heading towards Cyprus.[26]

On 4 March, Larnaca International Airport was temporarily closed due to the sighting of an unidentified object.[6] Two Greek F-16s were mobilised to investigate. The Greek F-16s intercepted two Iranian drones headed towards Cyprus that were in Lebanese airspace.[27][28] Reports suggested a closure of Cypriot airspace, but it was later dismissed as false by the Cypriot government.[28]

Response

Military

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) General Sardar Jabbari claimed that the Americans had relocated most of their aircraft to Cyprus, declaring that RAF Akrotiri is "in the frame" now that the UK has let Donald Trump's US Air Force land there, and that they would "launch missiles at Cyprus with such intensity that the Americans will be forced to leave the island."[1][24]

Although Cyprus is not a NATO member, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, as a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic, can invoke NATO's Article 4 on consultations or Article 5 on mutual defence. No dedicated discussion was held among the NATO members over the incident, which has been considered minor,[29] but on 3 March 2026, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the alliance will "defend every inch of NATO territory" if needed.[29] Base authorities advised residents near Akrotiri to shelter in place until further notice.[26] The UK sent helicopters with counter-drone capabilities and the air-defence destroyer HMS Dragon.[30] Greece sent two frigates, Kimon and Psara, equipped with an anti-drone strike system, as well as four F-16 fighter jets, to increase Cyprus' defence and help prevent any future attacks on the island.[31] The French frigate Languedoc was also sent to Cyprus.[30]

The European Commission Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho stated that in the coming days following the attack the EU "mutual defence clause will be up for discussion".[32] The President of the European People's Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, called Iran a "criminal regime" and vowed that an attack on the Republic of Cyprus would be considered an attack on Europe.[33]

By 5 March 2026 the nations that had mobilised in defence of Cyprus had increased, involving Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.[8][34] If requested, Ireland stated they would be willing to protect Cyprus and join the European defense coalition that had mobilized around the island.[35] Italy sent the frigate Federico Martinengo,[36] the Netherlands sent the HNLMS Evertsen,[37] whilst Spain sent the frigate Cristóbal Colón.[38]

Turkey commented on the tension, stating that they would protect and ensure the safety of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and adding that they understood "the need [...] (of) Greece [...] to defend its territory".[39]

Civilian

Message (in Greek) from Cypriot president Nikos Christodoulides following the first Iranian strikes on Cyprus

Paphos International Airport was evacuated after the two drones attempted to hit.[40] A meeting of European Union officials on the island was postponed in response.[41]

Following the strikes, British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper stated that the US had not been granted access to the base at Akrotiri. Despite this, the Royal Air Force (RAF) had moved additional material there in response.[42] In response to questions from a media scrum over the potential link to the prime minister's statement on US bases from the preceding hour, she added that drones are often launched a long time before they hit the target.[24] The strikes caused concern that the country's military could be dragged into the conflict fully, with memories of the UK's involvement in the Iraq War. The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party vowed to force a vote in Parliament over British actions in the region.[16] Cyprus condemned the United Kingdom for not clarifying that UK bases would be used for anything other than "humanitarian" purposes and refused to rule out renegotiating the status of said bases.[43]

In the first hour of 3 March 2026 the village of Akrotiri was fully evacuated aside from 20 individuals who refused to leave their homes.[44]

After the attack, some Cypriot groups that work for civil society protested outside the Presidential Palace and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ask for an end to all military and diplomatic ties with Israel, the United States, Greece and other nations that back efforts to intervene in Iran. The people organising the rally made a public declaration asking for an end to military connections with the “2+1” group, which includes Greece, Israel and the United States, and for the British military bases in Cyprus to be removed. The people involved said that the present crisis happened because the United States is using a planned strategy to take control of global resources, particularly oil.[45][46][47]

Possible threats

Cyprus expressed worries of possible terroristic cells that could act within the nations on Iran's behalf from Northern Cyprus, where 10,000 pro‑regime Iranians live and where, allegedly, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood operate.[48]

Italy's intelligence agencies have been reporting that it is highly possible that the entire Eastern Mediterranean region will be affected by the growing instability in the Levant and the Strait of Hormuz, mainly suffering impacts on energy markets and supply security, which will impact the Mediterranean countries and Europe as a whole if the Indo-Mediterranean trade route through Suez Canal-Red Sea is damaged by the conflict (specially if Houthis do a more active aid to Iran at the Gulf of Aden), generating a widening arc of instability across the multiple regions of Afro-Eurasia. Such catastrophic geopolitical possibility of maritime insecurity have been declared as the main reason of various Western countries to deploy troops with the main goal of protect the Euro-Atlantic trade routes.[49]

List of Europeans assets deployed in Cyprus as a response

References

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