Four EU states to send naval forces to Cyprus

Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands will send naval forces to protect Cyprus in the coming days, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told parliament on March 5, Reuters reports.

Separately, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told RTL 102.5 radio station that Italy was also planning to send air defence aid to Gulf countries in response to Iranian airstrikes.

She said the move was driven not only by diplomatic ties but by the presence of Italians on the ground. Tens of thousands of Italian nationals live in the Gulf, while around 2,000 Italian troops are deployed there, she said.

On March 2, the British Royal Air Force base on the island was targeted by an Iranian-made drone amidst the US ​and ⁠Israeli air war against Tehran. The attack damaged a runway and prompted a partial evacuation of the facility. British forces later intercepted additional drones heading toward the island.

The incident triggered a wave of security deployments by European allies. The United Kingdom announced it would send the air-defence destroyer HMS Dragon and helicopters equipped with counter-drone systems to the region, while France and Greece also pledged air-defence systems and naval assets to reinforce the island’s security.

Cyprus has become a focal point in the widening crisis because of its strategic location in the eastern Mediterranean and the presence of major foreign military facilities, including the British sovereign base areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

By Khagan Isayev