Starmer says US strikes on Iran won’t be launched from Cyprus after row over UK bases
A British military base in Cyprus, hit by a drone strike at the start of the Iran war, will not be used by the US to target Tehran’s missile sites following an extraordinary international debate.
RAF Akrotiri will not be among the UK bases the US could launch an attack on, Sir Keir Starmer told the Cypriot president, hours after it emerged that Iran had fired missiles at the joint US-UK Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean.
As part of the same phone call on Saturday, Nikos Christodoulides demanded Sir Keir open a discussion on the future of British bases on the Mediterranean island.
Although Cypriot politicians have previously demanded the return of bases to the sovereign UK, this is believed to be the first time since independence in 1960 that a Cypriot president has formally requested the opening of negotiations.
It came just days after he described them as a “colonial outcome”, amid fears for the island’s security as conflict in the Middle East escalates.
On Friday, Britain gave Donald Trump the green light to use British bases to strike Iranian missile sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz.
Downing Street said such action would still amount to “collective self-defence”, emphasizing that it would not mean Britain was being drawn into a wider conflict.
However, the Prime Minister said that the base in Cyprus will not be included in this list.
A Downing Street spokesman said the Prime Minister had spoken directly to Mr Christodoulides to convey the message.
He added that Sir Keir “reiterated that RAF Akrotiri will not be involved in the continuation of the UK’s agreement with the US to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region, including reducing Iran’s missile capabilities.”
In a statement following the call, President Christodoulides’ office said on his former Twitter account,
It was revealed that on Saturday, Tehran fired two medium-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia, but neither of them hit. Wall Street Magazine and semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr reported. One of the missiles was shot down by a US warship, while the other failed in flight, according to the newspaper, which cited multiple officials.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned Iran’s “reckless” attacks that threaten British interests and allies.
The Ministry of Defense also said RAF jets and the UK’s other military assets continue to “protect our people and personnel in the region”.
Questions over the future of the Cyprus base will put pressure on Sir Keir Starmer, who is already facing criticism over his decision to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
The archipelago is home to the key UK-US base of Diego Garcia, which will be leased back to the UK as part of the deal.
According to Cypriot foreign minister Constantinos Kombos, the drone that attacked RAF Akrotiri was Iranian-made but launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon.
It caused minimal damage and there were no casualties. More drones were seized and the Department of Defense temporarily removed families from the base.
British bases in Cyprus were established as part of the independence agreement negotiated in 1960 and are the UK military’s main base for operations in the Middle East.
This is a developing story, more below…
