Should British military presence on Cyprus end? Aftermath of the drone attack

A British RAF Akrotiri base has been hit by a drone launched supposedly by Hezbollah on March 1^st. There have been other attacks afterwards, but those were intercepted. Drones were launched in response to the US-Israeli bombardment of Iran. There are two British bases in Cyprus – Akrotiri and Dhekelia. They have existed since Cyprus gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960.

No one was hurt in the drone attacks, however, the discourse regarding the British military presence in Cyprus has resurfaced. For now, there are no concrete decisions taken by the Cypriot government regarding a potential shutdown of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. However, when asked if Cyprus would decide on such a move, President Nikos Christodoulides said that ”there is nothing I can rule out.” Cypriot bases are the most important anchor points for the UK and have been used several times to support operations across the Middle East.

Cypriot media seem to be more straightforward about the future of UK bases. In Phileleftheros, we can read that „the bases should take a hike. They are endangering our safety.” Around 7000 military personnel with their families live on the bases, with about 12 000 Cypriots living nearby. There is also an ambiguous position of Britain regarding the conflict in Iran itself. Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not publicly rule out the potential use of bases in the conflict. They are supposedly used as a launchpad for missions aimed at engaging and shooting down drones fired from Iran.

If the conflict in the Middle East prolongs, the discussion is unlikely to die down on its own. For now, most of the drone strikes targeting the bases in Cyprus were intercepted. Several European countries decided to send some of their military assets to help in defence and project their power. If another drone attack were to hit Cyprus, we may experience civil unrest on the island, thus further pressuring the UK to abandon Akrotiri and Dhekelia.