An Iranian drone attack on a British military base shocks the people of Cyprus. The first airline has already canceled all flights. Our correspondent witnessed the attack just a few kilometers away.
Mar 2, 2026, 1:41 p.mMar 2, 2026, 1:41 p.m
Michael Wrase, Akrotiri (Cyprus) / ch media
A British Typhoon fighter jet at the Akrotiri base in Cyprus.Image: EPA MOD UK/RAF
“It sounded like a fast motorcycle,” is how residents of the Cypriot village of Akrotiri describe the incoming drone, which hit the runway of the British military base of the same name in Cyprus shortly after midnight. The missile, said to be an Iranian-made Shahid-136 drone, caused only “minor damage,” a British military spokesman said. His country’s armed forces stationed in Cyprus have been put on “high alert”.
Personnel at the base were asked to “move away from windows and seek shelter behind or under solid, sturdy furniture” because there could be a risk of further attacks. Unfortunately, there are no bunkers at the airbase to protect against attacks.
Just an hour before the drone attack, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had allowed the US to use British bases to, as he said, “destroy Iranian missile launchers.” This decision was made “to prevent Iran from killing innocent civilians, endangering British lives and hitting countries that are not involved in the war against Iran.”
British military personnel secure the main gate of the British Akrotiri base following an Iranian drone attack.Image: keystone
“The fine gentleman has actually achieved the exact opposite,” complained British pensioners living in Cyprus. They met for coffee on Monday morning in the town of Kolossi, the hometown of the CH Media correspondent, which is just a few kilometers from the base. “Non-essential personnel have now been evacuated there”.
First air raid in half a century
Many residents of the village of Akrotiri, which is located directly next to the military base, also left their homes that night to seek safety with friends in Limassol. On Monday night, sirens wailed several times in the port city, causing fear and panic among the population. Hours later, all schools around the British military base were closed.
In fact, it was the first time since the Turkish military invasion of 1974 that “Cyprus was attacked from the air,” emphasizes journalist Michalis Gregoriades, who lives in the capital Nicosia. The attack at that time led to the division of the Mediterranean island. “Legally,” Great Britain has sovereign rights over the Akrotiri base and another in the east of the country. Nevertheless, the drones or missile strikes “would of course be perceived as attacks on our homeland of Cyprus,” Gregoriades makes clear.
The government of the island republic also reacted with corresponding alarm. President Nikos Christodoulides said that Cyprus “is not participating in any way in the military operations (against Iran) and has no intention of doing so.”
Did Hezbollah fire the drone?
Iran has not yet commented on the drone attack on Cyprus. European military experts believe it is possible that the pro-Iranian Hezbollah “launched the drone attack on behalf of the Iranians or possibly even on their own initiative.” After all, it is only around 150 kilometers from Lebanon to Cyprus.
The attacks fit into the “Iranian doctrine of retaliation, which is apparently directed against all states in the Middle East region that are directly or indirectly involved in the attacks on Iran that have been ongoing since Saturday.” Further attacks on the British military bases in Cyprus are therefore possible, “if not probable”.
For the holiday island in the eastern Mediterranean, attacks and, above all, the reporting on them are a catastrophe. Before the start of the spring season, the tourism industry must expect cancellations. The airline Easy-Jet canceled all flights from Great Britain to Cyprus on Monday morning until next Thursday. Other airlines could follow. (aargauerzeitung.ch)