Cyprus becomes embroiled in another Middle Eastern maelstrom with UK military bases on its soil

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — If the adage “geography is destiny” holds true, then Cyprus should be a prime candidate as its poster child.

Whether it’s the Greeks, Persians, Romans, Ottomans or the British, tiny Cyprus has been a prized possession for many. That's because of its proximity to arguably the world’s oldest hotbed of conflict, a region driven for centuries by faith as the birthplace of three great religions, and more recently by its vast energy resources.

Now, after nearly 66 years as an independent nation, Cyprus has found itself embroiled in another Middle Eastern maelstrom primarily because it hosts two large and significant U.K. military bases, the vestige of its British colonial past.

Minutes after midnight on Monday, a Shahed drone managed to evade the Royal Air Force's state-of-the-art radar installations at its base in Akrotiri. Typhoon fighters and six of the world’s preeminent warplane — the F-35 — were deployed to take out the drone, which officials said ultimately did limited damage to an aircraft hangar near the base's runway.

No one was injured, but the attack signaled a troubling expansion of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran into European territory. It also signified the first time a third country mounted any type of attack on Cypriot soil since Turkey’s 1974 invasion that cleaved the island along ethnic lines.

Warplanes intercepted a pair of drones in a second attempted strike on the base shortly after midday Monday, driving home the point that the initial strike was no accident.

Cypriot and British officials haven’t specified where the Shahed drone took off from, but speculation is that it was the work of Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah. The U.K. government insisted the drone strike on the British base wasn’t an outcome of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to allow the U.S. to use is bases for its campaign against Iran, arguing that the UAV was launched before he made the announcement Sunday evening.

But that’s a moot point. If Iran or Hezbollah wanted to “punish” the U.K. it's unlikely it would try to hit its base on Diego Garcia in the middle of the Indian Ocean — it would opt for RAF Akrotiri only some 160 miles (260 kilometers) away.

RAF Akrotiri, with its massive runway, is a prime component of the U.K.'s complex of bases in Cyprus, including Episkopi Garrison in the west and Dhekelia Garrison in the east. Its breadth measures some of 99 square miles (255 square kilometers).

In 2003, RAF Akrotiri served as a major logistical hub for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It’s still home to the famed U2 spy plane that conducts high-altitude surveillance flights over the Middle East.

In its first decades of independence, Cyprus had steered clear of taking sides in any regional conflict, opting instead for a “neutral” stance that tried and more often than not failed to strike a balance between East and West, Arab and Israeli. The country's EU membership put it firmly in the Western camp. But the definitive turn came years ago with the election of President Nikos Christodoulides, a U.S. educated history and politics professor, who unequivocally declared Cyprus' pro-Western, pro-U.S. orientation.

Christodoulides has leveraged Cyprus’ geography to diplomatically position the island as the “bridge” linking the EU with the Middle East, pushing a humanitarian-centered foreign policy by assiduously building strong diplomatic, commercial and defense ties with Israel, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and other countries in the region.

After the RAF Akrotiri drone strike, Cypriot government officials from Christodoulides on down took pains to underscore that the country “has not, is not and will not take part in any military action.”

Heeding Christodoulides’ plea for help to bolster the island’s own anti-drone defenses, Greece dispatched four F-16 fighter planes and two cutting-edge frigates, while France will send a frigate of its own and land-based anti-drone and anti-missile systems, according to officials. Germany is also expected to send a warship, while Starmer said he's sending a warship and helicopters to help protect RAF Akrotiri.

Despite this, the British bases in Cyprus perpetually cast a shadow over any Cypriot government policy. The Cyprus government says U.K. authorities are obliged to inform it when they would use the bases for any military action, but that’s more of a courtesy than anything else.

Yale Fellow and president of the Politeia think tank Anna Koukkides-Procopiou likened Cyprus’ conundrum to the analogy of a billiards table where a ball sits undisturbed, almost forgotten in a corner of the table until it's suddenly thrust into a pocket after other balls collide with it.

“We’ve chosen sides and we have to face the music now," Koukkides-Procopiou told The Associated Press, adding the priority for Cyprus now is what it must do to make itself less vulnerable to the vicissitudes of its geography.

A protester holds a sign that reads in Greek "Get all the armies out" during an anti-war rally in the southern city of Limassol, Cyprus, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

The gate of the U.K.'s RAF Akrotiri air base at sunset after it was struck by a drone earlier in the morning near Limassol, Cyprus, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

A transport aircraft prepares for landing at U.K.'s RAF Akrotiri air base near Limassol, Cyprus, Tuesday, March, 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

U2 spy aircraft takes off from U.K.'s RAF Akrotiri air base near Limassol, Cyprus, Tuesday, March, 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

NEW YORK (AP) — The average price for a gallon of gasoline jumped 11 cents overnight in the U.S., and some drivers in Europe waited in line to fill their tanks with fuel, as war engulfed the Middle East and shipments of oil and gas were stranded in the Persian Gulf.

A gallon of regular was selling for $3.11 on average in the U.S., according to motor club AAA, surprising some drivers at the pump. Gasoline prices were already rising before the U.S. launched strikes on Iran as refiners switch over to summer blends of fuel. But crude prices rose sharply in recent days because of the war.

Anne Dulske paid $15 more than usual to fill up her tank at a Jackson, Mississippi gas station on Tuesday.

“It’s going to affect everything in our lives,” she said. “It’s very scary, and it does hit closer to home than people think.”

Dulske, who said she had previously noticed gas prices slowly going down, called the increase surprising and said she was caught off guard when she learned the United States and Israel had attacked Iran over the weekend.

“We are knee-deep into the gas price increases," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, a technology company that helps people find cheap gasoline. DeHaan estimates gasoline price could rise further, but he doubts the price would reach $4 a gallon in the U.S. “Many Americans seem very panicked that prices could hit multiple dollars higher than that, which at this point, I wouldn’t say anything’s impossible, but certainly it’s quite improbable based on the current developments."

In a suburb of Paris, drivers waited in a queue of 15 cars to fill up at seven pumps, which were charging about 1.846 euros per liter (7 euros per gallon) of diesel Tuesday.

“I’m heading out to the countryside and I’m almost out of fuel," said Laurence Rihouay, a customer at a petrol station. "But there are a lot of people here. There’s never usually this many.”

On Tuesday, oil prices soared to levels not seen in more than a year as Iran launched a series of retaliatory attacks, including a drone strike on the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Iran has also struck energy facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and disrupted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes, sending global oil and natural gas prices soaring.

President Donald Trump addressed the rising prices in remarks in the Oval Office Tuesday. “We have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe, lower than even before,” he said.

Drivers elsewhere were taking precautions.

“With Iran and the Strait of Hormuz effectively blocked, it is causing alarm everywhere and driving up oil prices," said Abdelilah Khalil, who was getting gasoline at a station outside Paris. "It’s panic on board, everyone is worried, and I think that’s why many people are rushing to gas stations to fill up.”

Back in the U.S., Brody Wilkins was filling up gas canisters in Jackson, Mississippi, when he noticed prices had increased to $2.99 a gallon. Wilkins, who works for a landscaping and construction company, said he’s concerned about how the increase will impact the business.

“We use gas nonstop,” Wilkins said. “I don’t know how long this is supposed to last, but I hope not very long.”

Benchmark U.S. crude jumped 8.6% to $77.36 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, added 6.7% to $81.29 a barrel. Global oil prices jumped to start the week over concerns that the war will clog the global flow of crude.

The price of crude is the single largest factor in how much U.S. drivers pay for fuel. And higher oil prices are usually felt at the pump within a couple of weeks at most.

In Burlington, Massachusetts, prices at one gas station neared $4 on Tuesday.

Erin Kelly called the price tag “hefty” and said she paid more than $5 for premium gas. She was driving her father’s car Tuesday while hers is getting repairs and said she hopes to get her car back soon so she can go back to paying for regular gas.

“We already are paying more in the grocery store,” she said. “We’re paying even more than we were paying before at the gas pump. So, I don’t know, it’s a little concerning.”

__

Associated Press journalists Nicolas Garriga in Paris, Sophie Bates in Jackson, Miss., Rodrique Ngowi in Burlington, Mass. and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - Fishermen work in front of oil tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz Jan. 19, 2012, offshore the town of Ras Al Khaimah in United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

FILE- In this Wednesday, June 8, 2011 file photo, sun sets behind an oil pump in the desert oil fields of Sakhir, Bahrain. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)