NEW: Iran Attacks UK Base After PM Green-Lights Strikes

The United Kingdom has confirmed that an Iranian kamikaze drone impacted one of its airfield’s in Cyprus, marking the first time the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East have directly impacted one of the nation’s military installation. The attack came just hours after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer — alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz — indicated that they were open to joining offensive strikes against Iranian missile and drone targets.

The impact was confirmed at RAF Akrotiri, a Royal Air Force installation located within the United Kingdom’s Sovereign Base Area in southern Cyprus.

The UK Ministry of Defense confirmed that UK armed forces responded to a suspected drone strike at approximately midnight local time. Officials confirmed the impact after instructing occupants of the base to exercise maximum security and seek shelter immediately, for at the time undisclosed reasons, just a few hours earlier.

According to a report from the BBC, the drone impacted the airfield, resulting in minor damage. No casualties were reported among military personnel or civilians at the base, which houses around 2,000 service members and their families.

Cyprus ATC, talking to an aircraft over the Mediterranean moments ago:

“Akrotiri military base said there are a lot of missiles between Cyprus and Beirut.” pic.twitter.com/QlbDW7ZuL3

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 1, 2026

“Our Armed Forces are responding to a suspected drone strike at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus at midnight local time. Our force protection in the region is at the highest level and the base has responded to defend our people,” the UK Ministry of Defense confirmed in a statement.

The strike came just hours after Starmer gave the green-light for the U.S. to use its bases — including the vital airfield at Diego Garcia — to be used for strikes against Iranian targets. “The United States has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose. We have taken the decision to accept this request – to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region, killing innocent civilians, putting British lives at risk, and hitting countries that have not been involved,” Starmer announced in a statement Sunday.

“The basis of our decision is the collective self-defence of longstanding friends and allies, and protecting British lives. That is in accordance with international law,” he added.

That statement was delivered after multiple Iranian drone and missile strikes had struck civilian targets in the United Arab Emires, Israel, Qatar, and other nations in the region. Starmer, as well as other European and Gulf State leaders, condemned the attacks and noted that their own citizens were being impacted.

In a joint statement issued at the United Nations, several Persian Gulf and Middle Eastern nations indicated that they may soon respond to Iranian attacks on their territory.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, along with Jordan and Syria, delivered a joint position at a United Nations Security Council emergency meeting. Bahrain’s UN Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaei, speaking on their behalf, stated that the attacks were “a blatant violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity, and they threaten the security and stability of the entire region.”

Starmer, Macron and Merz issued a similar statement after previously seeking to distance themselves from the ongoing U.S. and Israeli military operation.

“We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source. We have agreed to work together with the U.S. and allies in the region on this matter,” the three leaders announced in a joint statement.

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