The UK said it's allowing the U.S. to use its bases for defensive strikes against Iran amid escalating missile attacks, after a suspected drone strike hit a British airbase in southern Cyprus, causing limited damage.
In a video message on X on Sunday (1 March), British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United States had requested permission to use British bases for “a specific and limited defensive purpose.”
He added, “We have taken the decision to accept this request to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region.”
Starmer emphasised that the UK was not involved in the joint U.S.-Israel airstrikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and would not participate in further attacks. He warned that Iran had retaliated with missile strikes across the region, targeting airports and hotels hosting British citizens.
“Our decision that the UK would not be involved in strikes on Iran was deliberate,” Starmer said, “because the best way forward is a negotiated settlement, in which Iran abandons any nuclear weapons ambitions.”
He also noted that Britain’s Gulf allies had requested additional protection. British fighter jets were already engaged in coordinated defensive operations to intercept Iranian strikes. Starmer framed the decision to allow U.S. forces to use British bases as an act of “collective self-defence of long-standing friends and allies and protecting British lives” under international law.
Separately, U.S. President Donald Trump told the Daily Telegraph that he was “very disappointed” with Starmer for not allowing the U.S. to use the Diego Garcia air base in the Chagos Archipelago for strikes. He said it took “too long” for Starmer to decide and suggested the UK leader may have been concerned about legality.
Two unmanned drones targeting Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) base Akrotiri in Cyprus were “successfully intercepted,” southern Cyprus government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on X.
Earlier, the base had reportedly been hit by a suspected drone strike overnight, causing limited damage but no casualties, according to southern Cypriot authorities and the UK Ministry of Defence.
“Information received through various channels indicates it involved an unmanned drone,” the government spokesperson said, while the MoD confirmed no injuries.
Akrotiri, one of two sovereign British facilities on the eastern Mediterranean island, is part of the European Union. Authorities temporarily dispersed non-essential personnel as a precaution, while other facilities continued to operate normally.
The incident coincided with heightened regional tensions. Just after midday Monday (1000 GMT), sirens sounded at Akrotiri and aircraft took off.
Paphos airport, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the base, was also evacuated after a suspicious object was detected on radar, according to the southern Cyprus state broadcaster.
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