Cyprus’ air force, navy declared terrorist organisations by Iran

Cyprus’ air force and navy were both declared terrorist organisations by the Iranian government late on Saturday night, with the Iranian government declaring the air force and navy of every European Union member state a terrorist organisation in retaliation to the EU’s decision to declare the same of Iran’s Islamic revolutionary guard.

“The measure constitutes reciprocal action in response to the illegal and unjustified decision by EU member states to label the Islamic revolutionary guard corps as a terrorist entity,” the Iranian government said, before adding that the EU’s decision “contradicts the fundamental principles of the United Nations charter and international law”.

It added that “the measure had been taken within the framework of Iran’s domestic law and in response to the clear violation of international legal principles by European governments”.

The EU had designated the Islamic revolutionary guard as a terrorist organisation on Thursday, with the Council of the EU, chaired by Cyprus for the first half of this year, formally adopting the designation.

As such, the Council of the EU said, “the Islamic revolutionary guard will also be subject to restrictive measures under the EU counterterrorism sanctions regime”.

“This includes the freezing of its funds and other financial assets or economic resources in EU member states, and the prohibition for EU operators to make funds and economic resources available to the group,” it said.

When the European Parliament debated the matter earlier this month, one Cypriot MEP – Elam’s Geadis Geadi – had spoken on the matter, warning that “the barrage of ballistic missiles that hit Israel [was] visible from Cyprus” last year.

“This problematic situation posed a threat not only to the Iranian people, but to the entire region, Europe, and western civilisation more broadly,” he said, before making reference to the mass anti-government protests which were staged in Iran at the beginning of the year.

“Since the end of 2025, things have got out of hand. Iran is experiencing a popular uprising, with the regime responding with violent repression and mass execution of civilians,” he said.

He then added that “because history will not forgive those who choose silence in the face of terrorism, as the left defiantly does, we have a duty to stand by the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom and dignity”.

The following day, the European Parliament held a vote on a resolution offering a wide condemnation of the Iranian government, with 524 MEPs voting in favour, three voting against, and four abstaining.

All six Cypriot MEPs – Loucas Fourlas and Michalis Hadjipantela of Disy, Giorgos Georgiou of Akel, Costas Mavrides of Disy, independent Fidias Panayiotou, and Geadi – voted in favour of the motion.

The Cypriot foreign ministry had last month warned all Cypriot citizens in Iran to leave the country immediately amid the protests, saying that it “advises Cypriot citizens to avoid all travel to Iran due to the current internal security situation and the increased risk of regional escalation”.

Prior to that, Iran had been incensed after Cyprus had in December signed a joint declaration with the United Arab Emirates declaring that it recognises three islands in the Persian Gulf as belonging to the UAE.

According to the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister Mohammad Alibek met Cypriot ambassador in Tehran Petros Nacouzis and “formally conveyed Iran’s strong protest” at the joint declaration.

Alibek also alluded to the Cyprus problem during his meeting with Nacouzis, with the agency writing that he had referred to “Iran’s principled position of non-interference in the sovereign and territorial issues of other countries, including Cyprus”.

The joint statement with the UAE was unequivocal in the opposite direction, saying that “Cyprus reaffirmed its principled support for the sovereignty of the United Arab Emirates, especially as regards its three islands, Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa”.

Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb are all located in the Persian Gulf, with Abu Musa, the largest of the three islands, situated roughly at the midpoint between Dubai and the Iranian coastal town of Bandar Lengeh. It has a commercial airport, which is served by flights to mainland Iran.

Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb are located further northeast, close to the undisputed Iranian island of Qeshm. They have a combined population of around 300.

The UAE took its claim over the islands to the United Nations in 1980, but the claim was deferred by the security council at the time, and the matter has not been revisited.

Since then, the Iranian government has since established naval bases on the islands, which it uses to patrol the Strait of Hormuz.

The salience of those bases may heighten in the near future, with many fearing that Iran and the United States may go to war, with the latter bolstering its military presence in the region and the country’s President Donald Trump saying he is considering military action against Iran.