An RAF base in Cyprus was hit by a drone strike hours after Sir Keir Starmer let the US use British bases to attack Iran.
RAF Akrotiri was hit overnight by an unmanned Iranian-made Shahed drone which caused minor damage, the country’s president, Nikos Christodoulides, said on Monday morning.
There were no casualties in the blast, which took place at around midnight local time (10pm in the UK).
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said this morning that the drone targeted the airport runway.
Non-essential staff at the base have been temporarily relocated following the attack.
An MoD spokesperson said earlier: ‘Our armed forces are responding to a suspected drone strike at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus at midnight local time.
‘Our force protection in the region is at the highest level and the base has responded to defend our people.
‘This is a live situation and further information will be provided in due course.’
In a speech following the drone attack, the Cypriot president said : ‘I want to be clear: Our country does not participate in any way and does not intend to be part of any military operation.’
Nikos Christodoulides added that the country’s forces were on ‘alert and in full operational readiness’.
The drone strike follow Sir Keir’s decision to allow the US use British military bases to attack Iranian missile sites.
The prime minister said he made the call ‘to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region… killing innocent civilians … putting British lives at risk … and hitting countries that have not been involved.’
The foreign secretary said this morning that the US would not be able to use British bases to hit ‘political and economic and infrastructure targets’.
She added: ‘But there is a significant issue about ballistic missiles and launchers that are effectively pointed at the Gulf, pointed at our partner countries and countries where we have so many British citizens.’
The last time RAF Akrotiri was attacked was by Libyan militants in the mid-1980s.
The base has previously been used for military operations in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
It is understood that the UK government recently moved additional resources to its bases in Cyprus in the lead-up to war breaking out in the Middle East.
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