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A British Royal Air Force (RAF) basal successful Cyprus was deed by an Iranian one-way onslaught drone during the ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes launched connected Tehran implicit the weekend, confirmed by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides connected Monday (March 2, 2026).
The U.K.'s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said RAF Akrotiri sustained "minimal damage" connected Sunday (March 1, 2026) astatine astir midnight section time, with nary casualties reported.
It came hours aft Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s video connection announcing the U.K.’s determination to let the United States support to usage British bases for "limited defensive" operations to support British lives and interests successful West Asia.
"Our basal and unit proceed to run arsenic mean protecting the information of Britain and our interests," an MoD spokesperson said.
Family members astatine the basal volition beryllium moved to alternate accommodation arsenic a precautionary measurement nether a “temporary dispersal notice” for the British subject base.
"All different locations, workplaces, businesses and facilities volition stay unfastened arsenic mean and determination are nary restrictions successful place," the MoD said.
The onslaught came successful the aftermath of Mr. Starmer’s updated connection connected the struggle successful the region, which led to the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni.
“Our partners successful the Gulf person asked america to bash much to support them, and it is my work to support British lives. We person British jets successful the aerial arsenic portion of coordinated antiaircraft operations which person already successfully intercepted Iranian strikes," Mr. Starmer said from 10 Downing Street.
“But the lone mode to halt the menace is to destruct the missiles astatine root – successful their retention depots oregon the launchers which utilized to occurrence the missiles. The United States has requested support to usage British bases for that circumstantial and constricted antiaircraft purpose.
“We person taken the determination to judge this petition – to forestall Iran firing missiles crossed the region, sidesplitting guiltless civilians, putting British lives astatine risk, and hitting countries that person not been involved," helium said.
Setting retired the ineligible ground successful planetary instrumentality of the determination alongside the announcement, the U.K. PM stressed Britain is “not joining the strikes” and the latest determination was astir “collective self-defence".
“I privation to beryllium precise clear: we each retrieve the mistakes of Iraq, and we person learned those lessons. We were not progressive successful the archetypal strikes connected Iran and we volition not articulation violative enactment now. But Iran is pursuing a scorched world strategy – truthful we are supporting the corporate aforesaid defence of our allies and our radical successful the region," helium said.
According to the BBC, the U.S. is apt to usage RAF Fairford successful Gloucestershire, south-west England, and Diego Garcia successful the Indian Ocean for strikes connected Iranian rocket sites.
Meanwhile, the U.K. is mounting an cognition to enactment astir 2,00,000 British nationals successful the Gulf caught up successful the strikes. Officials are said to beryllium formulating imaginable plans to evacuate them, mostly holidaymakers, should the airspace successful the portion stay closed for longer.
Mr. Starmer addressed the contented successful his address: “We person astatine slightest 2,00,000 British citizens successful the portion – residents, families connected holiday, and those successful transit. I inquire each our radical successful the portion to delight registry your beingness and travel Foreign Office question advice. I cognize this is simply a profoundly worrying clip and we volition proceed to bash each we tin to enactment you.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has asked British nationals successful Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, the Palestinian territories, Qatar and UAE to registry their beingness to person updates.
