British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared on Tuesday that the United Kingdom is dispatching a [something] to Cyprus following an Iranian drone’s strike on the British Royal Air Force (RAF) base of Akrotiri on Monday morning, which is situated on the east Mediterranean island.
In a social media post, Starmer stated that he had conversed with the president of Cyprus, and the U.K. is deploying helicopters equipped with counter-drone capabilities and the air-defense destroyer HMS Dragon to the area.
“The UK is fully dedicated to the personnel stationed there,” he penned in the post. “We are carrying on with our defensive operations… We will always act in the interests of the UK and our allies.”
The strike, which occurred several days after Starmer reaffirmed that his country was not involved in the conflict, targeted a runway at the air base shortly after midnight on Monday.
Although there were no casualties, minor damage was reported.
British Defense Secretary John Healey stated that the country is “acting swiftly” to further bolster its defensive presence in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Healey wrote in a statement, “HMS Dragon brings world-class air defense capabilities, and our Wildcat helicopters are armed with Martlet missiles to counter the escalating drone threat. I am profoundly proud of the professionalism and bravery of our armed forces personnel who have, in recent days, successfully taken action across the region to safeguard our allies and defend British interests.”
The HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, will enhance the UK’s capacity to detect, track, and neutralize aerial threats — including drones.
The vessel is outfitted with the world-leading Sea Viper missile system, capable of launching eight missiles in less than 10 seconds and guiding up to 16 missiles simultaneously.
The deployment takes place as the British armed forces have successfully shot down multiple drones across the region within the past 24 hours.
RAF F-35B jets shot down drones over Jordan — the first instance of an RAF F-35 destroying a target during operations — with support from Typhoon jets and a Voyager tanker aircraft.
A British counter-drone unit neutralized drones in Iraqi airspace en route to coalition forces, while an RAF Typhoon operating with the joint UK-Qatar 12 Squadron shot down an Iranian one-way attack drone targeting Qatar using an air-to-air missile on Monday.
Before the strike in Cyprus, Starmer released a video explaining that [something] across the region, on countries that did not initiate attacks.
Starmer said, “They have targeted airports and hotels where British citizens are staying. This is clearly a perilous situation. We have at least 200,000 British citizens in the region, including residents, families on holiday, and those in transit. I urge all our people in the region to please register their presence and follow the foreign office’s travel advice. I understand this is a deeply concerning time, and we will continue to do everything we can to support you.”
He also stated that [something] are also “at risk,” noting that Iran struck a military base in Bahrain on Saturday, “narrowly missing British personnel.”
Starmer said, “The passing of the supreme leader will not deter Iran from launching these strikes. Their approach is becoming increasingly reckless and more dangerous to civilians. Our decision that the UK would not be involved in [something] was a deliberate one. Notably, because we believe that the best path forward for the region and the world is a negotiated settlement — where Iran agrees to abandon any aspirations to develop a nuclear weapon — but Iran is still targeting British interests and putting British people, along with our allies in the region, at significant risk. This is the situation we face today.”
He stated that Gulf partners requested them to “do more” to defend them, leading to a decision to permit the US to [something] for targeted strikes against Iranian missile launchers and storage depots.
Starmer said, “We have British jets airborne as part of coordinated defensive operations that have already successfully intercepted Iranian strikes. But the only way to halt the threat is to destroy the missiles at their source — in their storage depots or the launchers used to fire them. The foundation of our decision is the collective self-defense of long-standing friends and allies, and safeguarding British lives… We are not joining these strikes, but we will continue our defensive actions in the region.”
He continued, “I want to be very clear: We all remember the [something], and we have learned those lessons. We were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran, and we will not join offensive action now. But Iran is pursuing a scorched earth strategy. So we are supporting the collective self-defense of our allies and our people in the region because that is our duty to the British people. It is the best way to eliminate the urgent threat and prevent the situation from spiraling further. This is the British government protecting British interests and British lives.”