Mar 04, 2026
3 min read
Cypriot authorities have evacuated hundreds of people from areas near a British military base that were targeted by Iranian drones.
France, Britain and Greece send fighter jets, anti-drone helicopters and warships to Cyprus after Iran attack
Cypriot authorities are evacuating hundreds of people from areas near the British military base that was attacked by Iranian drones.
The attack by Israel and the United States on Iran, whose regime is about to be overthrown, has left concrete consequences in Europe.The war in the Middle East reaches European territory with an Iranian drone attack on one of the British military bases in Cyprus, a country of the European Union.After what happened on Monday, Greece and France supported their European partners and sent anti-missile systems, military fighters and frigates to the small Mediterranean island, according to the Cypriot government spokesman.spotlight after the decision of the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, to support Washington.This Tuesday, the British leader also announced that he will send anti-drone helicopters to Cyprus and deploy air defense fighters to the region.
Nicosia authorities have also decided to evacuate some towns near the British Akrotiri air base, which are heavily populated areas.On Monday, after Starmer's announcement, the Cypriot government attacked the United Kingdom and demanded more information about the use it will give to these bases.
Cyprus, a small country of 1.3 million inhabitants, is the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union this semester, and therefore, there are dozens of summit meetings of senior officials, ministers and leaders scheduled for the end of April.You now have the option to invoke the so-called mutual assistance clause of the EU, Article 42.7 of the Community Treaty.A point that guarantees unity between the member states in the event of an armed attack against any of them.According to sources in the community, the assistance can range from diplomatic cooperation and technical or medical assistance to civil or military assistance.For example, France activated a mutual assistance clause after the Bataklan attack in 2015.
For now Nicosia, which is analyzing the situation, has preferred bilateral cooperation.Hence the mobilization of the United Kingdom, Greece and France.Athens has sent four F-16 fighter jets and two frigates, one of which is equipped with the Centauros anti-drone system, capable of intercepting and disabling devices of this type at low altitude and which has already been used against the Houthi rebels who have attacked the maritime routes off the coast of Yemen, as explained by the Greek authorities.The other warship is equipped with anti-aircraft missiles Aster-30.
"Greece is present and will continue to be present to help in all ways to protect the Republic of Cyprus," Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said during a visit to Nicosia on Tuesday, Reuters reported.The Greek government also decided to install MIM-104 Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems on the Greek islands of the Carpathians, in the south-eastern Mediterranean, after an Iranian drone attack on a British Akrotiri aircraft carrier, in Cyprus.
The action of France, Greece and Great Britain shows the fear of Europe that the crisis will lead to an emergency and that it can spread to European countries as a result of the attacks carried out by the Shahed planes from Iran.However, the war in the Middle East will have a significant impact on energy prices, which have already risen to unprecedented levels since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.In addition, the organization is afraid that the war and expansion that it is doing in one of its areas has had a great impact in creating a new refugee crisis in Europe, at a very important time, where many countries are strengthening immigration proposals.
There is no common position
Although the direct impact of the attack on Europe is clear, European leaders have been unable to build a strong common ground against Israeli and US attacks.On Tuesday, public statements from some of them dominated the Trump administration's apology, and even followers such as Germany or the United Kingdom vowed to take "defensive measures" if Tehran did not end its "neutral attacks."Don't pull
Although, if you scratch the surface, the concern about the consequences for the world and the Old Continent of the world order being blown up again (perhaps forever) is a very good one.On the list of more short-term horrors: Ukraine, Greenland.
At the two extremes of Europe's response are Germany and Spain.While German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz assured that now is not the time to "lecture" European allies and showed readiness to mobilize his soldiers to carry out "defensive measures", Spanish President Pedro Sánchez strongly condemned the actions of Washington and Tel Aviv for violating international law when attacking Iran (and is in the process of negotiating) and banned the Trump administration from using Rota bases to participate in operations in Iran.
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