Greece has already ordered the deployment of a military force to Cyprus following drone incursions on the Mediterranean island Monday that have, for the first time, dragged an EU member country into the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, which has sparked massive regional retaliatory attacks from Tehran.
Four of Greece’s F-16 fighter jets are already placed in Paphos, a coastal city in southwest Cyprus, while two frigates — one equipped with its anti-drone Centauros jamming system — are deployed to the island.
A Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicle hit Britain’s Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus in the early hours of Monday, while more drone strikes targeting the base were intercepted later in the day. Akrotiri and the nearby villages remain evacuated.
French Rafale fighter jets flew over the UAE this weekend as part of “sky security operations,” French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Tuesday, after a naval base in Abu Dhabi was hit by an Iranian drone attack over the weekend.
Laura Kayali contributed to this report.