Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides confirmed on Monday that a Royal Air Force base in Cyprus was hit by an Iranian one-way attack drone during ongoing US and Israeli attacks on Tehran over the weekend.
The UK Ministry of Defense said RAF Akrotiri suffered “minimal damage” late Sunday around midnight local time, adding that no casualties had been reported.
The development followed a video address by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in which he said the United States would allow the United States to use British bases for “limited defensive” missions aimed at protecting British lives and interests in West Asia.
What did the MO say?
“Our base and personnel continue to operate as normal, protecting Britain’s security and our interests,” a MoD spokesman said.
As a precaution, families stationed at the base will be moved to other accommodation under a “temporary dispersal notice” issued to the British military installation.
“All other places, workplaces, businesses and facilities will remain open as usual and there are no restrictions,” the MoD said.
The attack followed Starmer’s updated statement on the conflict in the region that led to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Our partners in the Persian Gulf have asked us to do more to defend them and my duty is to protect British lives. We have British jets in the air as part of coordinated defense operations which have already successfully intercepted Iranian strikes,” Starmer said from 10 Downing Street.
“But the only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at their source – in their warehouses or the launchers they used to launch the missiles. The United States has asked for permission to use British bases for this specific and limited defensive purpose.”
“We have decided to accept this request – to prevent Iran from launching missiles across the region, killing innocent civilians, endangering British lives and interfering with countries that have not been involved,” he said.
Clarifying the legal basis of the decision in international law alongside the announcement, the British prime minister stressed that Britain was “not joining the strikes” and the latest move was one of “collective self-defence”.
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“I want to be absolutely clear: we all remember Iraq’s mistakes and have learned from them. We were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran and we will not be joining the offensive actions now.”
“But Iran is pursuing a scorched earth strategy, so we support the collective self-defense of our allies and our people in the region,” he said.
According to the BBC, the US is likely to use RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire in southwest England and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to strike Iranian missile sites.
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Meanwhile, the UK is organizing efforts to help the roughly 200,000 British nationals in the Gulf affected by the strikes. Officials are said to be preparing emergency plans to evacuate them, many of whom are vacationers, if regional airspace closures persist.
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Speaking, Keir Starmer said: “We have at least 200,000 British citizens in the region – residents, families on holiday and those travelling. I am asking all our people in the region to register your presence and follow the Foreign Office’s travel advice.”
“I know this is a deeply worrying time and we will continue to do everything we can to support you.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office urged British nationals in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, the Palestinian Territories, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to register their presence in order to receive updates.
