If you spend a day in Cyprus, you’ll notice traces of its British past: left‑hand driving, three‑pin plugs and widespread English. Drive about half an hour from Limassol and you encounter something more concrete: sovereign British territory and RAF Akrotiri, one of two UK military bases kept on the island under the 1960 treaty that granted Cyprus independence.
The bases were thrust back into the spotlight when an Iranian‑made drone crashed at Akrotiri in the early days of the US‑Israel confrontation with Iran. Cypriot officials suspect the drone may have been launched from Lebanon by Iran‑backed Hezbollah after US‑Israeli strikes killed a senior Iranian commander. Damage and casualties were minimal, but the incident ignited anger among locals who say Britain’s close ties with the United States make Cyprus a target.
“We were targeted as a country because of the bases. Maybe it’s time to reconsider the status. Maybe it’s time for them to go,” said Panayiotis, a father of three in Limassol. “They’re putting us in danger,” added another resident, Michalis.
President Nikos Christodoulides — typically cautious on diplomatic flashpoints — called for an “open and frank discussion” about the bases’ future once the Middle East tensions ease, describing them as a “colonial consequence.” EU leaders at a recent summit backed Cyprus’s wish to open talks with the UK.
London has defended its presence, saying the bases support the safety of British citizens and allies across the Mediterranean and Middle East. The UK Ministry of Defence said it has deployed additional defensive assets to Cyprus since January, including radar and counter‑drone systems, F‑35 jets, ground‑based air defence and about 400 extra air‑defence personnel.
The drone incident also drew support from several EU states: France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Greece sent warships and other assets to bolster defences around Cyprus. Political scientist Michalis Kontos said the moves mark “the first time the European Union looks like an actual alliance” in practical terms for the island, which is not a NATO member. He called the deployments a useful demonstration of solidarity and a “crash test” for Europe’s collective defence, while cautioning that Cyprus represents a relatively low‑risk, low‑cost case unlikely to be a primary focus for Iran or Hezbollah.
The story’s second chapter lies north of the UN buffer zone. The 1960 constitution that allowed British bases was meant to balance Greek and Turkish Cypriot interests but was followed by intercommunal violence. In 1974, a Greek‑backed coup prompted a Turkish military intervention that produced the island’s de facto partition: the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus in the south and the self‑declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the north, recognised only by Turkey.
After EU states sent assets to southern waters, Turkey bolstered its military presence in the north, including deploying fighter jets. Turkish Cypriot activists warn that dual build‑ups in north and south raise the risk of cross‑island tensions. “We know that geopolitics will never make it possible for us to live like an isolated little Mediterranean island,” said activist Beran Djemal. “There’s always a risk for a spillover. A little spark can turn into something horrible for all of us,” she added, though she said she is not entirely pessimistic.
Djemal campaigns for reunification and hopes foreign troops will eventually leave, but she acknowledged that current regional dynamics make that unlikely. “If the general feeling is like: this is an age that every country should have a strong military presence, then why would they [Turkey] feel like they can just compromise and not be there?”
Everyday people on both sides express a similar desire: an end to checkpoints and partition, but little faith in a near‑term political solution. “Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots are brothers. We need to find a solution to this,” said Umran, who runs a café in the north. She blamed politicians and external forces for perpetuating division.
Kontos said the brush with the Iran conflict underscores Cyprus’s unresolved “frozen conflict” and serves as an alarm that, while external threats demand attention, domestic issues remain urgent. The Akrotiri drone strike has reopened painful questions about sovereignty, security and the legacy of colonial arrangements that many Cypriots say put them at risk while others point to jobs and strategic ties as reasons to maintain the status quo.
Loucianos Lyritsas contributed to reporting.
Edited by: Rob Mudge