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Twice, air raid sirens were heard in the vicinity of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on Thursday afternoon. We were rushed inside as soldiers lay on the floor wearing body armor. It all ended quickly.
The British Defense Minister, who was visiting the base at the time, was taken to a “windowless room” just before he was scheduled to attend a COBRA meeting.
The warning system at the base is not sophisticated, it cannot be as specific as Israel’s, so the alarm was raised as a precaution, not because anything was coming in, but it underscores the threat to the island, which is very close to Lebanon and the Iranian proxy Hezbollah, which is believed to be responsible for the attack.
One drone managed to penetrate the defense on Sunday. It flies undetected, low to the sea, and is described as a “small” creature.
But they still managed to blow a hole in the hangar usually used to house the American U2 spy plane.
Maybe it wasn’t luck: the hangar, with two U2s parked outside, was clearly visible on Google Maps.
In my interview with John Healey I asked him when the option of deploying Royal Navy destroyers first came across his desk. He stated he had options for weeks. I pressed him to clarify that it was his decision to postpone it, and he disagreed.
But afterwards, defense sources told me the Royal Navy only gave him the option on Tuesday.
Whatever happens, whether by military planners or the defense minister himself, the plan comes too late for the Cypriot government and the people of the island.
The new ship will leave next week. The French frigate Languedoc has arrived off the coast of Cyprus. Based in Toulon, it is of course closer, but can leave port soon.
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Cyprus was targeted because of the British military presence, and they expected the British to defend it.
The UK did take some precautions before the war with Iran started. Six F35 jets were sent to complement the eight Typhoons permanently stationed in Cyprus.
The vehicle that was part of the convoy carried British Defense Minister John Healey. Photo: Reuters
Some of these F35s have been used to shoot down drones in Jordan in recent days.
Ground-based short-range air defenses have also been deployed and Wildcat helicopters, which have the capability to detect drones, will arrive in Cyprus at the weekend.
Senior military commanders argue that events unfolded quickly, even though the blow of the war has been growing louder for weeks and Iran has made no secret of its threats to strike widely in the region in response.
Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon at the Upper Harbor Munitions Facility (UHAF) in the port of Portsmouth, Hampshire, before being deployed to protect British military personnel in Cyprus. photo: PA
The attack on RAF Akrotiri, which hosts US personnel and belongs to the UK, which has historically remained one of Iran’s main adversaries, should not come as a surprise.
The British government initially denied America access to use British bases to attack Iran because they did not agree with the legal basis for the war. They have now reversed that decision on the theory that American attacks on Iranian missile batteries helped defend the region, and therefore British interests, from Iranian attack.
Based on this, whether the UK will go further and take part in an offensive attack, I asked the Minister of Defense. Three times he refused to rule it out.
