UK yet to decide on sending warship to defend Cyprus base

Britain has yet to decide whether to send a warship to defend its Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday, after the Times newspaper reported that ministers had discussed such a deployment.

An Iranian-made drone strike hit a runway at the Akrotiri base in the early hours of Monday. Britain has said UK assets were targeted by Iran.

The Times report, citing three sources, said Defence Minister John Healey had a meeting on Tuesday with senior military figures, in which they discussed sending HMS Duncan to the region.

The Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

Earlier on Tuesday, the semi-official Cyprus News Agency (CNA) said France plans to send anti-missile and anti-drone systems to Cyprus.