UK defence minister arrives in Cyprus

by AFP Staff Writers
London (AFP) Mar 5, 2026
Britain's defence minister John Healey arrived in Cyprus Thursday, following a drone strike on a UK air base on the Mediterranean island.

The visit comes after the runway of the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Akrotiri came under attack by an Iranian-made unmanned drone on Monday.

"The longstanding friendship between the UK and the Republic of Cyprus is strong in the face of Iranian threats," Healey posted on X alongside a photograph of him meeting Cypriot Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas.

The pair discussed how "the UK is further reinforcing our air defences to support our shared security," he added.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday the UK was dispatching "helicopters with counter drone capabilities" and a warship, HMS Dragon, to Cyprus as Britain continued "defensive operations" in the region.

HMS Dragon is one of the Royal Navy's six Type 45 air defence destroyers.

It is fitted with a Sea Viper missile system able to launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds and guide up to 16 missiles simultaneously, Britain's defence ministry said.

The helicopters are Wildcat helicopters equipped with Martlet missiles that can take down drones.

On Wednesday, Cyprus's High Commissioner to the UK Kyriacos Kouros said Cypriots were "disappointed" at the level of information-sharing with residents after RAF Akrotiri was hit and further drones intercepted.

"Let's say the people are disappointed, the people are scared, the people could expect more," he told the BBC's Newsnight programme.

Starmer initially refused to have any role in the US-Israeli war with Iran but later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a "specific and limited defensive purpose".

Those bases are in Gloucestershire, western England, and the UK-US Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean.

Starmer has insisted that the Akrotiri base is not being used by US bombers.

Monday's drone strike there caused minimal damage and no casualties, said British officials.

Service personnel's families have been moved away from the base as a precaution.

Spain to send frigate to Cyprus after drone strike
Madrid (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - Spain will send its most advanced frigate to protect Cyprus after a drone strike on a British base on the Mediterranean island sucked it into the Middle East war, the defence ministry said on Thursday.

The announcement comes as Madrid faces intense US pressure for refusing to allow Washington to use its bases against Iran, triggering threats of trade reprisals from President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, the White House said Spain had agreed to "cooperate with the US military", only for Spain to reaffirm its stance on its bases and its opposition to the war.

Spain's "Cristobal Colon" frigate will join French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" and Greek navy ships to "offer protection and aerial defence" and "support any evacuation of civilians", said a defence ministry statement.

The frigate will head for the Mediterranean after a mission with the "Charles de Gaulle" in the Baltic Sea and is scheduled to arrive at the Greek island of Crete around March 10, the ministry said.

France, Britain, Italy and Greece have also announced the deployment of sea and air resources to EU member Cyprus after the runway of the Akrotiri airbase was attacked by an Iranian drone on Monday.

Australia PM says 'military assets' deployed to Mideast
Sydney (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday that "military assets" had been deployed to the Middle East as a contingency plan.

Countries have rushed to evacuate their citizens from the Middle East this week after US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sparked a regional war.

Albanese told the Australian parliament the government had sent six crisis response teams to the region.

"And we've already deployed military assets as part of our contingency planning earlier this week," he said.

"I thank those Australians going into a dangerous situation in order to help their fellow Australians," he added.

The Australian leader did not give further details about the nature of the assets, though local outlet SBS News reported they were planes.

AFP contacted Albanese's office and the Australian defence ministry for further information.

Australia has said it has 115,000 citizens in the region.

New Zealand also ordered two military aircraft to the Middle East on Thursday in preparation for evacuations of its citizens from the region.

Canada PM Carney says can't rule out military participation in Iran war
Canberra (AFP) Mar 5, 2026 - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that he couldn't rule out his country's military participation in the escalating war in the Middle East.

Carney's visit to Australia this week has been overshadowed by expanding war in the Middle East, sparked by a massive US-Israeli strike on Iran that killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Speaking alongside local counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra, Carney was asked whether there was a situation in which Canada would get involved.

"One can never categorically rule out participation," he said, while stressing the question was a "hypothetical" one.

"We will stand by our allies," said Carney, adding that "we will always defend Canadians."

Carney had said the US-Israeli strikes on Iran were "inconsistent with international law".

However, he supports the efforts to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon -- a position that Canada takes "with regret" as it represented "another example of the failure of the international order".

The Canadian leader reiterated on Thursday his call for a "de-escalation" of the conflict.

Carney's trip is part of a multi-country tour of the Asia-Pacific aimed at reducing reliance on the United States -- a hedge against what he has described as a fading US-led global order.

The Australia leg of the tour is aimed at bringing in investment and deepening ties with a like-minded "middle power" partner.

- 'Middle power' rallying cry -

On Thursday morning he issued a rallying cry in Australia's parliament to "middle powers", urging them to work together in an increasingly hegemonic world order.

Nations like Australia and Canada faced a stark choice -- work together to help write the "new rules" of the global order or have great powers do it for them, he said.

"In this brave new world, middle powers cannot simply build higher walls and retreat behind them. We must work together," he said.

"Great powers can compel, but compulsion comes with costs, both reputational and financial," the former central banker added.

"Middle powers like Australia and Canada hold this rare convening power because others know we mean what we say and we will match our values with our actions."

The Canadian leader also said the two countries would together as "strategic collaborators" to pool their vast combined rare earth mineral resources.

And he detailed renewed cooperation in areas from defence to artificial intelligence.

"We know we must work with others who share our values to build solid capabilities," he told parliament.

Otherwise, he warned, they risked being "caught between the hyperscalers and the hegemons".

The Canadian leader has frequently clashed with US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and slapped swingeing tariffs on the country.

In a speech to political and financial elites at the World Economic Forum in January, Carney warned the US?led global system of governance was enduring "a rupture".