Europe Rushes to Defend Cyprus as Iran War Exposes Vulnerability

Europe has found itself pulled into another war, scrambling to protect its eastern outpost at a moment of weakness.

Soon after the US and Israel attacked Iran on the weekend, the continent’s leaders called for de-escalation. But as the conflict widens and threatens Cyprus, it’s proving difficult to avoid staying out of it when Europe’s resources are already stretched because of Ukraine.

A British air base on the Mediterranean island was struck by a drone strike late Sunday, marking the first — and so far only — attack on European territory. While UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressed that bases in Cyprus were not being used by US bombers, two more drones headed in their direction were intercepted, according to the Cypriot government.

Greece, Cyprus’s closest ally, the UK and France are involved in bolstering the island’s defense capabilities. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, whose country holds the European Union’s rotating six-month presidency, also said he has been in discussions with Germany and Italy.

The escalation comes at a difficult time for Europe. Russia’s war in Ukraine shows no sign of ending, while US President Donald Trump has upended transatlantic security arrangements. The biggest concern for the continent is that allies in Gulf nations currently under attack from Iran will require air defense help that otherwise would have gone to Ukraine.

“Europe is facing a convergence of crises,” said Elena Lazarou, director general of Eliamep, an Athens-based think tank. “With the war in Ukraine grinding into its fifth year, sustaining military production, funding and political consensus is becoming harder.”

For Cyprus, located off the coast of Lebanon and Syria and closer to Beirut than its allies in Athens, the drone attack marked the realization of a nightmare scenario the island has feared since the first Iraq war in 1991.

One of its airports was evacuated while sirens were heard at Akrotiri, the British base targeted by suspected drones from Iran or its proxies and adjacent to tourist areas on the island. The UK has moved the families of armed forces personnel who live at its base to alternative temporary accommodation in Cyprus.

Greece sent two pairs of F-16s and two warships to Cyprus, one of which carried an anti-drone system. “It is our national and European obligation to support Cyprus” Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said after visiting the island alongside the chief of Greece’s armed forces.

France is also sending a warship to Cyprus as well as air defense, President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday. It will also deploy an aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean aimed at securing maritime routes, he said.

But providing more military support may test the capabilities of EU nations, some of which are waiting to see whether the conflict will conclude swiftly or drag on. Gulf allies need more support to urgently reinforce their air defenses, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told lawmakers in Rome on Monday. But Italian capacity was already “stretched” compared to what Europe needs, he said.

“A new theatre of conflict in the Middle East unfolding on the EU’s doorstep compounds the pressure and forces difficult choices about priorities, resources and strategic focus,” said Lazarou, the foreign policy and defense analyst in Athens.

A former British colony, Cyprus has exploited its geography as a gateway to Europe and the Middle East. Fully divided in 1974 after Turkey captured the northern third of the island with the aim of protecting minority Turkish Cypriots, the country joined the EU in 2004 and then the euro single currency. More recently it promoted itself as a safe haven in an increasingly volatile region.

Britain still has the most at stake militarily. After independence in 1960, its retained bases on the island. The UK bolstered the deployment in recent weeks and is now operating F-35 and Typhoon fighter jets as well as other defenses. It will also send helicopters with counter-drone capabilities and HMS Dragon, a Type-45 warship capable of destroying guided missiles, Starmer announced on Tuesday.

The warship is likely to still be in UK waters, meaning it will take days before it reaches Cyprus. If the vessel needs to be stocked with weapons, that will further delay its departure.

While Britain also has some ground-based air defense systems in operation, it doesn’t have enough after neglecting them along with other European countries in peace time, according to Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the IISS.

Britain’s base in Cyprus “is exposed at the moment,” he said. “They will undoubtedly look to close that exposure as quickly as they can.”