Britain says it’s not at war after a drone strikes its Akrotiri base in Cyprus

Britain says it’s not at war after a drone strikes its Akrotiri base in Cyprus 1 of 6 | Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said a Shahed-type drone caused “minor material damage” to military installations inside the UK’s Akrotiri" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="38088" data-entity-type="location">RAF Akrotiri air base on the island’s southern coast. It comes after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. would help the U.S. in the war against Iran. AP’s Menelaos Hadjicostis has more from Akrotiri in Cyprus. (AP video by Menelaos Hadjicostis and Petros Karadjias) 2 of 6 | Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said a Shahed-type drone caused “minor material damage” to military installations inside the U.K.’s Akrotiri" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="38088" data-entity-type="location">RAF Akrotiri air base on the island’s southern coast. 3 of 6 | A dog sits at the main gate of the U.K.’s Akrotiri" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="38088" data-entity-type="location">RAF Akrotiri air base after it was hit by a drone strike early morning near Limassol, Cyprus, Monday, March, 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) 4 of 6 | A Fighter Jet takes off from the U.K.'s Akrotiri" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="38088" data-entity-type="location">RAF Akrotiri air base after it was hit by a drone strike early morning near Limassol, Cyprus, Monday, March, 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) 5 of 6 | A Fighter Jet prepares for landing at the U.K.'s Akrotiri" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="38088" data-entity-type="location">RAF Akrotiri air base after it was hit by a drone strike early morning near Limassol, Cyprus, Monday, March, 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) 6 of 6 | Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer issues a statement at 10 Downing Street, London, on the latest developments in the Middle East, Saturday Feb. 28, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool via AP) 1 of 6 Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said a Shahed-type drone caused “minor material damage” to military installations inside the UK’s Akrotiri" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="38088" data-entity-type="location">RAF Akrotiri air base on the island’s southern coast. It comes after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. would help the U.S. in the war against Iran. AP’s Menelaos Hadjicostis has more from Akrotiri in Cyprus. (AP video by Menelaos Hadjicostis and Petros Karadjias) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 2 of 6 Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said a Shahed-type drone caused “minor material damage” to military installations inside the U.K.’s Akrotiri" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="38088" data-entity-type="location">RAF Akrotiri air base on the island’s southern coast. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 3 of 6 A dog sits at the main gate of the U.K.’s Akrotiri" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="38088" data-entity-type="location">RAF Akrotiri air base after it was hit by a drone strike early morning near Limassol, Cyprus, Monday, March, 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 4 of 6 A Fighter Jet takes off from the U.K.'s Akrotiri" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="38088" data-entity-type="location">RAF Akrotiri air base after it was hit by a drone strike early morning near Limassol, Cyprus, Monday, March, 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 5 of 6 A Fighter Jet prepares for landing at the U.K.'s Akrotiri" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="38088" data-entity-type="location">RAF Akrotiri air base after it was hit by a drone strike early morning near Limassol, Cyprus, Monday, March, 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 6 of 6 Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer issues a statement at 10 Downing Street, London, on the latest developments in the Middle East, Saturday Feb. 28, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Akrotiri, Cyprus (AP) — Britain is not at war, the government said Monday, despite saying it would allow the U.S. to use British bases during its war with Iran and after a Royal Air Force base in Cyprus was struck by an Iranian-made drone.Sirens sounded again at Akrotiri" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="38088" data-entity-type="location">RAF Akrotiri on Monday and British Typhoon and F-35 warplanes were scrambled. Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis posted on X that two drones heading toward the British base had been intercepted. More than two decades after Britain followed the United States into a devastating war in Iraq, it is trying to avoid being drawn into a new Middle East conflict with unpredictable consequences. Akrotiri attackedU.K. officials say an attack drone hit the runway at Akrotiri" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="38088" data-entity-type="location">RAF Akrotiri, a British air force base in Cyprus, late Sunday. There were no injuries and “minimal” damage, but the strike brought the conflict onto European soil. AP AUDIO: Britain says it’s not at war after a drone strikes its Akrotiri base in Cyprus UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says she will not speculate on a reported drone incident at Akrotiri" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="38088" data-entity-type="location">RAF Akrotiri air base in Cyprus but notes the scale of Iran attacks in the region. Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides identified it as a “Shahed-type” Iranian drone. It was not immediately clear whether it was launched from Iran or by a Tehran-backed militant group such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. Akrotiri is the U.K.’s main air base for operations in the Middle East and in recent years has been used by British warplanes on missions against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq and to strike Houthi targets in Yemen.As tensions between the U.S. and Iran mounted, Britain last month deployed extra F-35 fighter jets to Akrotiri, along with radar, counter-drone systems and air defenses, as part of “defensive measures.” Britain retained the base, and another on Cyprus, after the eastern Mediterranean island gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960.It was last attacked in 1986, when pro-Libya militants struck the base with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms, injuring three dependents of British personnel. The latest attack is believed to be the first attack on Cyprus from outside the country since Turkey’s invasion of the island in 1974. Britain’s defense ministry said families of U.K. personnel who live on the base were being moved to nearby accommodation as a precaution.Some residents of the nearby village of Akrotiri also opted to leave their homes and spend the night with relatives elsewhere.Villager Mikaella Malta said she heard “strange noises” just before the drone explosion.“We tried to figure out what was going on. We then picked up whatever we could from home. We were in a panic and we left,” she told the AP. U.K. ambivalenceBritish officials have refused to say whether the U.K. supports the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. They have said that Iran should not be able to have a nuclear weapon and called for an end to Iranian strikes and a diplomatic solution.Britain did not take part in the strikes on Iran that began Saturday, and did not allow the U.S. to use U.K. bases in England or on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.But on Sunday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he had agreed to let the U.S. use the bases for attacks on Iran’s missiles and their launch sites. He said the change came in response to Iranian attacks on U.K. interests and Britain’s allies in the Gulf, and is legal under international law. Britain says its bases can’t be used for attacks on political and economic targets in Iran.U.S. President Donald Trump told the Daily Telegraph on Monday he was “very disappointed in Keir,” saying the prime minister “took far too long” to change his mind about the use of British bases.Unpredictable consequencesStarmer said Britain would not be joining the U.S.-Israeli strikes, and U.K. Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer stressed that “the U.K. is not at war.”The memory of Iraq remains raw for many in Britain. The decision by then-Prime Minister Tony Blair to join the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 remains one of the most contentious in modern British history.The subsequent yearslong conflict killed 179 British troops, some 4,500 American personnel and many thousands of Iraqis.Critics say that attempts by the government to set firm limits on Britain’s involvement in Iran could be swept away by a fast-moving conflict. “We are being drawn in, just as we were in Iraq, following the U.S. into an incredibly dangerous situation,” said John McDonnell, a lawmaker from the governing Labour Party.Patrick Bury, senior associate professor in security at the University of Bath, said Britain is in an “incredibly difficult” position.“We’ve had very little explanation for this war, really, from the U.S.,” he said. “The U.K. policy is always heavily on upholding international law. So they’re kind of looking at this going, ‘How does this fit with our own foreign policy?’ And I think that explains why they’ve held off as much as they could.“And nevertheless, they get a direct request. What are you going to do, say no?”___Lawless reported from London. Lawless is based in London, covering British politics, diplomacy and culture and top stories from the UK and beyond. She has reported for the AP from two dozen countries on four continents. Hadjicostis covers a challenging and ever-evolving region where the interests of Europe and the Middle East, West and East intersect with consequences that reverberate globally. He is based in Cyprus.