A British Royal Air Force base in Cyprus has been hit by explosions around midnight local time after a security threat was reportedly declared, with damage and casualties currently unclear according to cyprus mail.
Strong explosions were heard at RAF Akrotiri in Limassol, though it is not yet known if the blasts are linked to events in Iran. The incident comes hours after Sir Keir Starmer granted US permission to launch defensive strikes on Iranian missile sites from UK bases.
Sources have confirmed the explosions occurred but details about the extent of damage and whether there are casualties remain unknown. RAF Akrotiri has been used for British F-35B fighter jets taking part in defensive operations from Cyprus following Iranian retaliatory strikes across the Middle East.
The timing follows Starmer’s Sunday evening statement authorizing the US to use British bases for the “specific and limited defensive purpose” of hitting missile launch sites or storage depots in Iran. The Prime Minister stated: “Our partners in the Gulf have asked us to do more to defend them and it’s my duty to protect British lives.”
Starmer claimed the UK has learned lessons from “the mistakes of Iraq” and would only allow strikes for the “limited specific defensive purpose” of defending British allies. He stated it is “my duty to protect British lives” from Iranian “scorched earth strikes” but ruled out taking part in pre-emptive strikes.
The Prime Minister said it “remains the case” the UK is not involved in strikes on Iran and will “not join offensive action now.” He claimed the decision was a result of “collective self-defence” of allies and to protect British lives from Iran’s bombardment across the Middle East.
Starmer stated the move was in accordance with international law, with the government publishing a summary of its legal advice. He said: “We have British jets in the air as part of coordinated defensive operations which have already successfully intercepted Iranian strikes, but the only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at source, in their storage depots or the launchers which are used to fire the missiles.”
The Prime Minister, alongside France and Germany, threatened to join defensive action to stop missile and drone bombardments targeting allies in the Middle East. Whether the explosions at RAF Akrotiri represent Iranian retaliation for the authorization of defensive strikes remains under investigation.
British forces at the Cyprus base have been on heightened alert following Iran’s vow to seek revenge for Saturday’s US-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The base serves as a strategic location for British operations in the Middle East region.
