Greece sends warships, fighter jets to defend Cyprus after drone strike

Politico Europe · Mar 2, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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News Defense ATHENS — Greece ordered the deployment of a military force to Cyprus following drone incursions on the Mediterranean island that have for the first time dragged an EU member state into the three-day-old U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran. Two frigates and a pair of F-16 fighter jets will be deployed immediately, Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said on Monday. “Following the unprovoked attacks on the territory of Cyprus, Greece will … contribute in every possible way to the defense of the Republic of Cyprus in order to address the threats and illegal actions taking place on its territory,” Dendias said in an address on Monday. The move comes after a Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicle hit Britain’s Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus overnight, while more drone strikes targeting the base were “successfully intercepted” during the day, according to Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis. While the source of the drone strike is so far unconfirmed, a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened intensified missile strikes on Cyprus, alleging an increased U.S. military presence on the island. “The Americans have moved most of their aircraft to Cyprus. We will launch missiles at Cyprus with such intensity that the Americans will be forced to leave the island,” General Sardar Jabbari was quoted on Monday as saying by Khabar Fouri, an Iranian Telegram news channel. It’s the first time one of the U.K. bases on Cyprus has been hit since a rocket attack by Libyan ⁠militants in 1986. While the bases are regarded as British sovereign territory, Cyprus is an EU member, and currently holds the bloc’s rotating presidency. An EU ministerial meeting that was set to take place in Cyprus on Monday and Tuesday was postponed after the drone strike. Greece said it is dispatching to Cyprus the Belharra-class frigate Kimon and a second frigate equipped with the Kentauros anti-drone system. A pair of F-16 fighter jets will also be deployed. Dendias along with General Dimitrios Choupis, chief of Greece’s armed forces, will be on the island on Tuesday to better coordinate the stance of the two allies. Akrotiri, located on a peninsula on the southern tip of Cyprus, southwest of the coastal city of Limassol, is one of the two bases Britain has maintained in its former colony since independence in 1960. It has been used in ​the past for military operations in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. The overnight strike, which caused limited damage and no casualties, came shortly after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he would allow the United States to use U.K. military bases to “destroy [Iranian] missiles at source.” After confirming the drone strike, Cyprus President Nicos Christodoulides said in a televised address on Monday: “I want ⁠to be clear: Our country ‌does not ⁠participate in any way and does not intend to be part of any military operation.” Christodoulides briefed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the attack. Von der Leyen later stressed that Cyprus — and thus the EU — was not the intended target of the drone strike. “While the Republic of Cyprus was not the target, let me be clear: we stand collectively, firmly and unequivocally with our member states in the face of any threat,” von der Leyen said in a post on X. Also, earlier in the day, a passenger terminal at Paphos airport was temporarily evacuated after a suspicious object was detected on radar. Residents of the nearby villages of Timi, Anarita and Mandria were instructed to avoid “unnecessary movements.” Paphos is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus, some 56 kilometers from the Akrotiri base. Cypriot media also reported smoke rising near the other British airbase at Dhekelia, located on the island’s southeast coast. The U.K. Foreign Office has updated its travel guidance for Cyprus, warning British nationals of a heightened risk of regional tension during the U.S.-led war against Iran.