Iran fires missiles towards Cyrus. Are UK bases at risk? – Firstpost

Iran continues its retaliation against the coordinated US and Israel military action that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top leaders of the regime. On Sunday (March 1), Day 2 of the conflict, the Islamic Republic reportedly fired missiles towards Cyprus, which houses British military bases.

This comes after an
oil tanker was hit off the Oman coast, drone strikes on the Gulf country’s commercial port of Duqm, and continued explosions in
the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain.

Iran-Israel war live updates: The latest from the West Asia crisis

Here is what we know about the attack on Cyprus

• Two missiles were launched by Iran toward Cyprus, British Defence Minister John Healey told the BBC on Sunday morning (March 1), adding that the country may not have “necessarily” been the intended target

• Two Iranian missiles were fired towards Cyprus, but UK sources do not believe they were targeting the UK sovereign base at Akrotiri.

• A defence source said the situation remains live and the danger real, reports the BBC.

• Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides was quoted as saying by the BBC that the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called to confirm “clearly and unequivocally that Cyprus was not a target”.

• After reports from UK defence sources that two Iranian missiles were fired towards Cyprus, its government spokesperson denied this, saying there is “no indication that there was a threat to the country”.

What do we know about the UK bases in Cyprus?

• Thousands of British military personnel, known also as the British Forces Cyprus, are stationed at the UK Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on Cyprus in the Mediterranean.

• Britain’s main operating base in the region is RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, which is home to several fighter jets. The RAF F-35 jets and Typhoons are based in Cyprus.

• The RAF Akrotiri houses the Cyprus Operations Support Unit, which provides joint support to British Forces Cyprus and operations in the region to protect the UK’s strategic interests.

• RAF Akrotiri is an extremely busy Permanent Joint Operating Base that supports ongoing operations in the region as well as support for the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus. It is used as a forward mounting base for overseas operations in the region and for fast jet training, according to the Royal Air Force website.

• RAF Akrotiri’s Griffin helicopters play an important search and rescue function in collaboration with the Republic of Cyprus Police and National Guard Air Command, it says.

Where are British bases in the region?

• The UK has three permanent military sites in West Asia.

• The UK opened a permanent military centre at the Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE in March 2024. It is named after a World War II pilot, William Donnelly. It is a relatively small military facility equipped with a headquarters, a welfare centre and accommodation, reports The Independent.

• The country operates a permanent base in Bahrain and Oman, which are used by the British Navy.

• Yesterday, British military personnel based at a US base in Bahrain were within 200 metres of Iranian strikes. Around 300 UK military personnel are based there, but all are reported safe and accounted for, reports the BBC.

• The UK has access to the US-run Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which Iran targeted on Saturday (February 28) in retaliation for the US and Israel attacks on the Islamic Republic. A squadron of Typhoons based in Qatar continues to fly defensive missions.

• A British counterdrone unit based in Iraq intercepted an Iranian drone that was heading towards a coalition base housing UK military personnel, reports the BBC.

Was the UK part of the attack on Iran?

• On Sunday (March 1), British Defence Minister Healey declined to say whether the UK backed the American and Israeli strikes on Iran, and reiterated that Britain “played no part” in the attacks. Expressing concern over Iranian action, he said, “It demonstrates how our bases, our personnel, military and civilians at the moment are at risk with a regime that is increasingly indiscriminate, widespread and uncontrollable in the attacks it’s mounting.”

• While British planes are now in the sky to defend UK interests in the region, Prime Minister Starmer has clarified that such defensive activity is “in line with international law” and that the UK wasn’t involved in the American-Israeli attacks. In a statement earlier on Saturday, he said that British planes were “in the sky’ in West Asia as part of a defensive operation to “protect our people, our interests and our allies”.

• Starmer spoke to Donald Trump after the attacks on Iran. He also released a joint statement with the leaders of France and Germany on Saturday, calling for Iran to “refrain from indiscriminate military strikes”.

• “Iran can end this now. They should refrain from further strikes, give up their weapons programme and cease the appalling violence and oppression of the Iranian people, who deserve the right to determine their own future.”

• The UK PM previously blocked the US from using UK bases, reportedly over concerns about breaching international law. This, despite Trump making it very clear that he wanted to do so.

With inputs from agencies