US officials flown from Erbil to Cyprus’ Akrotiri base

United States officials were flown from the Harir airbase near the Iraqi city of Erbil to the United Kingdom’s Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus, the Cyprus Mail has been informed, though it is not clear whether they remain there.

A spokesperson for the British defence ministry said that the US officials, some of whom were consular staff and others who were referred to as “contractors”, had boarded a British Royal Air Force transport aircraft in Erbil, which had been scheduled to transport equipment to Akrotiri.

According to the spokesperson, there were “ insufficient American air assets in the region”, and as such, the US officials had requested to board the British aircraft, and that that request was accepted.

It is not currently clear when the flight took place and whether the US officials remain in Cyprus. The Cyprus Mail requested confirmation on this matter from the US department of defense and is awaiting response.

The British defence ministry spokesperson did confirm that the flight did not take place on Thursday night, when the base was attacked by drones and a number of US servicemen were injured and one French soldier was killed, though Erbil has been targeted by drones on numerous occasions since the conflict broke out.

British television channel GB News reported that once the US officials arrived in Cyprus, “there was still no plan to recover them”.

Akrotiri itself had been hit by an Iranian-made drone shortly after midnight on March 2, and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had confirmed last week that it has since been used as the launchpad for operations in the region in which British aircraft engage and shoot down drones launched by Iran.

That confirmation came after Starmer had announced that his government would allow the United States to use its military bases – commonly understood to mean the Diego Garcia airbase in the Indian Ocean and the Fairford airbase in Gloucestershire, on the UK mainland – in its operations against Iran.

However, this decision was taken and announced too slowly for the liking of US President Donald Trump, who described the perceived delay as “shocking”.

Of Starmer, he then said that “this is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with”.

Following the strike on the Cyprus base, Starmer had sought to clarify that British bases in Cyprus are “not being used by US bombers” after the drone strike, though he did stress that the drone had not been fired “in response to any decision that we have taken”.

Instead, he said, it is believed that the drone was fired before he had made his statements on Sunday, before landing after his statements concluded.

In the aftermath of the drone strike on Akrotiri, the UK sought to bolster its defence of the base, deploying the HMS Dragon Type 45 destroyer warship, which set sail for the island on Tuesday, as well as three AW159 Wildcat helicopters and a Merlin Mk2 helicopter.

However, Starmer’s predecessor Rishi Sunak on Sunday accused him of lacking “strategic acumen” due to perceived delays in the deployment of British assets to the region in the aftermath of a drone strike on Akrotiri base.