The Government of the Republic of Cyprus has officially called on the United Kingdom to revise and substantially strengthen the security arrangements provided for under the 1960 treaty on British Sovereign Base Areas on the island. The move was prompted by an Iranian Shahed-type drone attack on the Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri in the early hours of 2 March 2026.
According to Cypriot and British officials, the drone — allegedly launched by the pro-Iranian group Hezbollah from Lebanon — penetrated the base’s air defence systems and caused minor damage to a hangar near the runway. There were no casualties. Two further drones heading towards British facilities were intercepted the same day.
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and other senior officials stated that the attack, although directed at the British base, had endangered the security of the entire island and its population. Nicosia has stressed that Cyprus must not become a “bargaining chip” in the regional conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States.
“We are demanding new, more reliable and up-to-date security guarantees from the United Kingdom. The 1960 treaty, which underpins the status of the Akrotiri and Dhekelia Sovereign Base Areas, is outdated and fails to address today’s threats, including drone and missile attacks,” said a Cypriot government source close to the negotiations.
The Cypriot authorities have also expressed displeasure over the use of Akrotiri by American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, which they believe may have provoked the retaliatory strike. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had previously assured Nicosia that the base would not be used by the US to carry out strikes against Iran, but this assurance was deemed insufficient.
London has so far refrained from officially commenting on the demands for a treaty revision but has already dispatched the destroyer HMS Dragon to Cypriot waters to bolster air defences. France has also announced its readiness to deploy additional air defence and counter-drone systems on the island.
The incident has reignited longstanding debate in Cyprus over the presence of British military bases, which many local politicians describe as a “colonial legacy.” The opposition is calling either for the complete withdrawal of the bases or for a radical renegotiation of the terms of their presence, considering the interests of the Republic of Cyprus as an EU member state.