The escalation of Iran’s war, following the attacks by the United States and Israel, has placed the island of Cyprus in the spotlight, especially after last Monday, the Akrotiri military base was hit by an Iranian-made drone, and after the country has intercepted other similar devices directed towards the area.
According to Reuters, senior Cyprus government officials have reported that the Iranian drone was “probably” launched by the Shiite militia Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, from Lebanon and that the target was the military base and not Cyprus itself. Faced with this situation, countries like Greece, France, Italy and Spain have sent help, because Cyprus is a member of the European Union, not NATO.
The two bases that the United Kingdom has in the country
From the air, Cyprus simply looks like an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. However, it occupies a key position. On the one hand it is a base of operations for the West. There are two British bases on the island, Akrotiri, which is the one that has been attacked, and Dhekelia. These are owned by the United Kingdom as part of the Cyprus Independence Treaty of 1960 and have been used extensively for operations in Syria, Iraq and Gaza, for example.
Following the attack on Akrotiri, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has authorized the United States to use this base to attack Iran, a decision criticized by the Cypriot government. This base has an important strategic value for air and intelligence operations in the area.
For this reason, Iran has confirmed that the attack on the air bases is because they belong to a country that supports the United States in its offensive. The problem is that Cyprus is one of the smallest countries in the world and the bases are surrounded by European territory, so an attack against it would plunge the EU into the conflict.
An island divided since 1974
Cyprus is the gateway to the Middle East and Asia, as it is located on the border between Europe and this continent. An attack on Cyprus is a problem, politically speaking. Since 1974, the island has been divided into two: on the one hand, the Republic of Cyprus, which is part of the European Union (EU) and, on the other, the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, only recognized by Türkiye.
The island is considered a sensitive territory, a fact that has caused the UN to maintain peace troops in the territory. Due to Turkey’s presence in the country, Cyprus cannot enter NATO, so in the event of conflict, it would only be defended by the EU, according to article 42.7 of the European Treaty.
Thus, according to the North Atlantic Treaty, NATO would not be obliged to intervene according to Article 5, but the United Kingdom, having sovereign bases there, can invoke self-defense.
