- Cyprus, Britain move to protect citizens, facilities
Loud explosions were heard across the Gulf cities of Dubai, Doha and Manama as well as in Jerusalem early on Monday as Tehran pressed into a third day of strikes against Israel and its Gulf neighbours in response to the US-Israeli-led attacks that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Reports by Agence France-Presse (AFP) indicated that several loud blasts were heard in the Qatari and Bahraini capitals, as well as in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s most populous city, Dubai.
Posting on its X handle on Monday morning, the Israeli Air Force (IAR) noted that missiles had been launched from Iran towards Israel and defence systems were operating to intercept them.
The post also said it had directed the public via mobile phones in relevant areas to go to “protected spaces” and stay until further notice.
Cyprus On Red Alert
In its reaction to development within the Middle East, Cyprus has put authorities on alert, closing schools and evacuating people where necessary.
It was reported that Cyprus was dragged into the spiralling conflict across the Middle East following a drone attack on RAF Akrotiri, a British base on the island.
In an early morning address to the nation, President Nikos Christodoulides said his country’s security and safety of the people were the government’s paramount concern.
According to him: “We are located in a region of particular geopolitical instability, with many challenges and problems, currently undergoing an unprecedented crisis.
“We are doing what must be done, with the safety of our country and our citizens as our foremost concern,” he said.
The Cypriot leader said it remained the firm stance of the eastern Mediterranean island, the EU’s closest member state to the Middle East and a popular tourist destination, to not “become part of any military operation.”
“We remain committed to the humanitarian role we have fulfilled throughout this period – always as part of the solution and not the problem – and we will continue to act with the same sense of responsibility,” he said in te address.
Referring to the midnight strike, Christodoulides told the island nation that “an unmanned aerial vehicle of the Shahed type struck within the military installations of the British Bases in Akrotiri, causing minor material damage.”
Greek media reports suggested a second combat aerial vehicle, also deployed against the British facility by Iran, approximately 600 miles away, had been neutralised.
Britain’s Defence Ministry Moves To Secure Families
Meanwhile, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it is moving families from the RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus after it was targeted in a suspected Iranian drone strike last night at around midnight local time (22:00 GMT), in an attack which caused limited damage but no casualties.
An MoD spokesperson said: “The safety of our personnel and their families is our absolute priority. As a precautionary measure we are moving family members who live at RAF Akrotiri to alternative accommodation nearby on the island of Cyprus.
“Our base and personnel continue to operate as normal protecting the safety of Britain and our interests.
The UK has agreed to let the United States (US) use British military bases to attack Iranian missile sites, with the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, saying Tehran’s actions were becoming more reckless and putting British lives at risk.
Starmer said the UK had allowed the US to strike Iranian missile sites from British bases as officials plan an unprecedented rescue operation for UK citizens in the Gulf.
Hundreds more flights were cancelled on Monday, extending the turmoil in global air travel caused by the war, with hundreds of thousands of passengers already stranded.
With global oil prices soaring and stock markets coming under pressure on Monday after the strikes on Iran prompted fears of significant global economic disruption, the death toll from a missile strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran on Saturday rose to almost 165, according to Iranian state media.
