Britain has yet to decide whether it will send a warship to defend its Royal Air Force Akrotiri base in Cyprus, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday after the Times newspaper reported ministers had discussed such a deployment.
Entrance to the RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base in Cyprus, which was hit by an unmanned drone overnight, causing limited damage, after sirens sounded, in Cyprus March 2, 2026. Reuters/Yiannis Kourtoglou
Britain has yet to decide whether it will send a warship to defend its Royal Air Force Akrotiri base in Cyprus, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday after the Times newspaper reported ministers had discussed such a deployment.
An Iranian-made drone strike hit a runway at the Akrotiri base in the early hours of Monday. Britain has said UK assets were targeted by Iran.
The Times report, citing three sources, said defence minister John Healey had a meeting on Tuesday with senior military figures, in which they discussed sending HMS Duncan to the region.
The Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
Earlier on Tuesday, the semi-official Cyprus News Agency (CNA) said France plans to send anti-missile and anti-drone systems to Cyprus.
Reporting by Sarah Young and Elizabeth Piper
A drone strike hit a British air base in Cyprus overnight, causing limited damage and no casualties, Cypriot and British officials said on Monday, in a marked escalation effectively dragging an EU member state into the conflict surrounding Iran.
Cyprus imposed strict livestock controls on Tuesday after authorities confirmed multiple cases of foot and mouth disease, triggering nationwide restrictions on the movement of animals and heightened biosecurity measures across farming areas.
A Cypriot court acquitted former parliamentary speaker Demetris Syllouris on Tuesday of corruption charges linked to a scrapped citizenship-for-investment scheme that triggered public outrage and intense European Union scrutiny.
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