Iran vows to launch THOUSANDS of missiles at Cyprus after Iranian suicide drones attacked RAF base

One of Iran’s top generals today vowed to carpet bomb the RAF’s main base on Cyprus with its most deadly missiles and drones.

Major General Ebrahim Jabari, a senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, told state TV that RAF Akrotiri is ‘in the frame’ after the UK allowed access to Donald Trump’s US Air Force.

‘The Americans have transferred the majority of their aircraft to Cyprus. We will launch so many missiles towards Cyprus that the Americans will be forced to leave,’ Jabari said. 

Smoke is rising less than a mile from an RAF base on the eastern Mediterranean island today after two unmanned Iranian drones were destroyed by RAF Typhoons.

RAF Akrotiri, home to more than 3,500 British personnel and their families, had already been hit by a ‘kamikaze’ drone at midnight last night with security sources claiming they were all fired by Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists in nearby Lebanon.

Major General Jabari has warned it is just the beginning of the bombardment of the British base.

Announcing that Iran’s daily missile launches will increase, and include more advanced weapons, he added: ‘So far we have launched approximately 3,000 first and second generation missiles. In the coming days we will definitely use third and fourth generation missiles. Approximately 10,000 drones have taken off so far.’ 

Major General Jabari is likely to have a target on his back with the US-Israel attacks taking out at least 40 ‘key’ Iranian military commanders so far in hundreds of strikes on more than a dozen cities and military sites since Saturday.

But Iran has insisted there will be ‘no surrender’ as it seeks revenge for the killing of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Sirens were blaring and personnel were told to ‘take cover’ under heavy furniture and away from windows at RAF Akrotiri on Monday. 

‘Two unmanned aerial vehicles that were moving towards the direction of the British bases at Akrotiri were confronted in time’, a spokesman for the Cypriot Government later said. 

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that he only agreed to the US request to use British military bases for ‘defensive’ strikes – rather than attacks on Iran. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said it had not been ‘not in the UK’s interests’ to join Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran.

Cyprus has since demanded the UK’s assurances that RAF bases will only be used for ‘humanitarian’ activities. 

A security source later told Reuters that ‘all indications’ suggest that the Iranian drones which targeted British bases in Cyprus were fired by Hezbollah in Lebanon – rather than from inside Iranian territory. 

The Lebanese coast is just 120 miles from RAF Akrotiri, where British troops on the island have been targeted twice in just 12 hours. 

Cyprus has asked UK to ensure that its bases on the island will be used ‘only for humanitarian purposes’. 

Social media footage taken from a beach showed smoke billowing from a hillside close to Dhekelia, the RAF’s airfield in eastern Cyprus, around 60 miles east of Akrotiri. Dhekelia is mainly used by helicopters from the Army Air Corps and is home to around 1,500 British troops and their families.

It is not yet known if the drone’s target was Dhekelia – or if it was shot down by the RAF while travelling from east to west along Cyprus’s coast towards RAF Akrotiri.

Meanwhile Paphos Airport was evacuated and flights grounded when two suspect objects were picked up on radar approaching the third largest island in the Mediterranean. Staff ushered passengers out of the terminal yelling: ‘There is a drone, we need to go now’.

It came as Greece said it is sending two of its frigates and two F-16 jets to the island to protect it from further attacks.

Akrotiri was struck by an enemy ‘kamikaze’ attack drone last night, immediately after Sir Keir Starmer U-turned on a US request to use British military bases to hit back at Iran. 

Donald Trump said today Mr Starmer took ‘far too long’ to give the US access to British bases when joint attacks with Israel on Iran began on Saturday. ‘That’s probably never happened between our countries before… we were very disappointed in Keir’, the US President said.

And this morning sirens began sounding at Akrotiri and RAF fighter jets were seen taking off to meet two drones before they could land their deadly load of explosives. 

The Ministry of Defence is yet to comment. 

Minutes earlier a memo sent to British forces on the base warned of an ‘ongoing security threat’ and that everyone should immediately ‘take cover’ away from windows. 

It came amid panic on the island after Britain’s air base in the Mediterranean was hit.

The new attack by Iran meant the planned evacuation of non-essential personnel from RAF Akrotiri has had to be postponed.

And the passenger air terminal in Paphos, Cyprus, was evacuated on Monday lunchtime as drones were spotted on radar. Paphos airport, on the west coast of the island, is 37 miles from Britain’s RAF Akrotiri.

A memo sent to British forces on the base this morning, seen by the Daily Mail, warned of an ‘ongoing security threat’ and that everyone should immediately ‘take cover’ away from windows.

Loud sirens started blaring on the base immediately afterwards followed by the roar of jets taking off.

‘Please return to your homes and stay inside until further notice’, the email warning said at 10.04am. 

‘Move away from windows and take cover behind or beneath substantial, solid furniture. Please await further instruction’. 

This morning there was a dispersal order issued for non-essential personnel at the RAF’s Cyprus hub. Families were told to pack a bag with essentials to last three to five days – although their pets will have to be left behind with ‘appropriate care’.

‘Please remain in place until directed to move by station authorities. This will be done in street order’, the British Forces memo said. 

But amid a new threat this morning, this evacuation has apparently been stopped. 

EasyJet and Ryanair flights to the UK had already been cancelled from the airport this morning following Iranian strikes on nearby RAF Akrotiri. 

Ryanair flights to several European cities including Riga in Latvia, Warsaw in Poland and Eindhoven in the Netherlands were still running.

One Brit, who did not want to be named, said he was due to fly to Thessaloniki in mainland Greece when the alarms went up.

He said: ‘We were going through security then the alarms went off, staff started shouting ‘there is a drone, we need to go now’.

‘I have no idea what the plan is now, it seems unclear.’

There was added chaos as Ryanair passengers were unable to book new flights or find any information online and asked to come to the airport.

A family hoping to fly to Manchester on Ryanair told the Daily Mail they had their flight cancelled but were unable to book an alternative route online.

‘It’s chaos, we were still told to come to the airport, we don’t know what our options are now’, the mother said.

A Ryanair flight from Warsaw to Paphos was turned round following the evacuation.

Strong blasts had been heard at the British RAF Akrotiri base in Limassol at around midnight local time after a ‘security threat’ was declared. 

According to No 10 Downing Street, they believe this drone was launched by Iran before the PM’s statement revealing his U-turn on allowing the US access to UK bases.

The MoD on Monday announced that family members of British servicemen were evacuated from the site in the wake of the strike ‘as a precautionary measure’.

It added there was minimal damage to the base after the drone attack last night and that operations were continuing as normal. 

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides confirmed the attack came from an ‘unmanned’ Iranian Shahed drone. 

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper branded Iranian attacks across the region ‘reckless’ as the UK scrambled to rescue 94,000 nationals stranded across the Gulf.

Family members of those serving at the Akrotiri base were told to ‘pack a small bag with essentials to last for three to five days’ as officials rushed to evacuate non-essential personnel out of the targeted area, sources told the Daily Mail.

Spouses, partners, children and visitors were all ‘strongly advised to comply with the recommendation to disperse’. 

The Iranian attack on the base – home to around 2,000 service personnel and their families – came just an hour after Sir Keir Starmer granted the US permission to launch ‘defensive’ strikes on Iranian missile sites from UK bases. 

The MoD said the incident last night was a ‘one-way attack drone’, adding: ‘The safety of our personnel and their families is our absolute priority.

‘As a precautionary measure we are moving family members who live at RAF Akrotiri to alternative accommodation nearby on the island of Cyprus.

‘Our base and personnel continue to operate as normal protecting the safety of Britain and our interests.’

The Foreign Secretary told the BBC that Iranian strikes on countries not involved in striking Iran ‘show the seriousness of the reckless way the Iranian regime is operating’.

Ms Cooper said ‘precautionary measures’ were being taken following the drone strike.

She told Sky News: ‘This is an unmanned drone strike, specifically on the airport runway and we’re not able to provide further information and detail at this point.

‘But obviously all of the precautionary measures are being taken around the base.’

Ms Cooper added that drones are often launched a long time before they hit the target, in the face of questions over the attack’s potential link to the Prime Minister’s statement on US bases just hours earlier. 

Flight trackers identified RAF jets being scrambled to protect the base and thousands of troops and their families were ordered to take cover.

Personnel at the base were said to have been warned of a potential threat and told to ‘return to your homes and stay inside until further notice’.

Plans for the phased evacuation of family members at the site seen by the Daily Mail confirmed ‘Op WIDEAWAKE’ was under way on Monday morning.

A note at around 8am UK time read: ‘As part of the temporary dispersal, non-essential personnel at RAF Akrotiri (All UK Family Members, including spouses, civil partners, children and visiting family members,) should pack a small bag with essentials to last for 3 to 5 days.

‘Please note: Pets cannot be accommodated except for registered support animals. Please arrange appropriate care for any pets left on RAF station.

‘Please remain in place until directed to move by Station authorities. This will be done in street order.’

It added: ‘As a precautionary measure, a temporary dispersal of non-essential personnel based at RAF Akrotiri is being planned. This will be a phased dispersal. Akrotiri schools will be closed. 

‘Please ensure essential personal items including identification documents (e.g. passports, status cards, base passes), prescription and other medications, and baby supplies are packed. You will be notified on the ground when it is your turn to move. Please remain inside and await further instructions. You are strongly advised to comply with the recommendation to disperse.’

An earlier update read: ‘All military personnel are to liaise directly with their Chain of Command at the earliest opportunity regarding expectations for reporting for duty under current conditions.

‘As part of the temporary dispersal measures being planned, any personnel with childcare responsibilities are to remain with their family members – children under the age of 14 are not to be left. Please make your circumstances known to your Chain of Command so that appropriate arrangements can be made.’

Akrotiri is one of two military bases Britain has retained on Cyprus since the former colony gained independence in 1960, alongside a site in Dhekelia.

The base has been used for conducting previous military operations in the likes of Iraq, Syria and Yemen. 

Large explosions in Beirut were reported in the early hours of Monday morning.

The Israeli military said it had begun striking Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah across Lebanon following a rocket and drone attack against a military base in Haifa, in northern Israel.

Huge explosions in Tehran were also reported, with smoke rising from locations across the Iranian capital.

The UK did not take part in the strikes on Iran which killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but on Sunday British fighter jets downed an Iranian drone which was headed to Qatar. 

Sir Keir has given the US permission to launch ‘defensive’ strikes on Iranian missile sites from UK bases. 

The Prime Minister, alongside France and Germany, threatened to join the war on Iran by taking defensive action to stop the ‘appalling’ missile and drone bombardments targeting allies in the Middle East.

The decision comes after a day of conversations between Sir Keir and regional leaders, including the kings of Bahrain and Jordan, the crown prince of Kuwait, the sultan of Oman and the president of Cyprus to discuss the security situation and the UK’s defensive actions.  

On Sunday night questions were being asked about the air defence capabilities at RAF Akrotiri which is used by the RAF to launch operations across the Middle East.

At least one RAF Typhoon jet was scrambled to patrol the airspace around the Mediterranean island.

RAF Akrotiri is home of the Cyprus Operations Support Unit which provides joint support to British Forces Cyprus and operations in the region to protect the UK’s strategic interests.

It is an extremely busy Permanent Joint Operating Base that supports ongoing operations in the region as well as support for the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus.

The military base is used as a forward mounting base for overseas operations in the Middle East and for fast jet training.    

Sir Keir claimed the UK has learned lessons from ‘the mistakes of Iraq’ and he would only allow strikes for the ‘limited specific defensive purpose’ of defending British allies.

He said it is ‘my duty to protect British lives’ from Iranian ‘scorched earth strikes’ but ruled out taking part in pre-emptive strikes.

The PM said it ‘remains the case’ the UK is not involved in strikes on Iran and will ‘not join offensive action now’.

He claimed the decision was as a result of a ‘collective self-defence’ of allies and to protect British lives from Iran’s furious bombardment across the Middle East.

The PM said the US can use the bases for the ‘specific and limited defensive purpose’ of hitting missile launch sites or storage depots in Iran.

He said the move was in accordance with international law, and the government would publish a summary of its legal advice.

In a statement on Sunday evening, Sir Keir said: ‘Our partners in the Gulf have asked us to do more to defend them and it’s my duty to protect British lives.

‘We have British jets in the air as part of coordinated defensive operations which have already successfully intercepted Iranian strikes, but the only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at source, in their storage depots or the launchers which are used to fire the missiles.

‘The United States has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose.

‘We have taken the decision to accept this request to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region, killing innocent civilians, putting British lives at risk, and hitting countries that have not been involved.

‘The basis of our decision is the collective self-defence of long-standing friends and allies and protecting British lives – that is in accordance with international law and we are publishing a summary of our legal advice.’

Sir Keir’s comments followed a joint statement on Sunday night with France and Germany, which said they were ready to defend their interests in the region after the ‘indiscriminate and disproportionate’ missile attacks by Iran.

They said: ‘We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially fire missiles and drones at their source.

‘We have agreed to work together with the US and allies in the region on this.’

None of the three countries took part in the Israeli-US strikes on Saturday.

And the drone struck down by the RAF on its way to Qatar is thought to be the first taken down by a British fighter jet since the latest outbreak of conflict.

Sir Keir added: ‘I want to be very clear. We all remember the mistakes of Iraq. And we have learned those lessons. We were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran… and we will not join offensive action now.’

But he said the UK is ‘supporting the collective self-defence of our allies and our people in the region’.

He claims it is the ‘best way to eliminate the urgent threat… and prevent the situation spiralling further’.

The PM previously said British jets were ‘in the sky’ to help defend allies in the region.

Earlier on Sunday, Defence Secretary John Healey said there were ‘two missiles fired in the direction of Cyprus’.

He said: ‘We don’t believe they were targeted at Cyprus, but nevertheless, it’s an example of how there is a very real and rising threat from a regime that is lashing out widely across the region, and that requires us to act.’

The UK did not participate in the strikes against Iran but F-35B fighter jets have been taking part in defensive operations from Qatar and Cyprus.

In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: ‘On 1 March 2026, a Royal Air Force Typhoon operating from Qatar as part of the joint UK-Qatar Typhoon Squadron, successfully took out an Iranian drone heading towards Qatari territory.

‘The Typhoon jet was conducting a defensive air patrol and used an air-to-air missile to shoot down the drone, ensuring the security of Qatar’s airspace and British interests in the region.

‘Our Armed Forces are playing a vital role to protect our people, our interests and our Allies.’