Southern Europe in March 2026: the most important developments in security
In March 2026 the war involving Iran reached Southern Europe. On 1 March Iran fired two missiles toward Cyprus, where thousands of British personnel are based; they were intercepted near the British bases, and President Nikos Christodoulides said Cyprus itself was not the target. On 2 March a drone struck the RAF base at Akrotiri and caused limited damage. Reports called the drone Iranian-made, while the UK later said it was not launched from Iran. Britain, France, Greece, Spain and Italy sent warships and air defences to the island. At the end of the month, on 30 March, Spain closed its airspace to US military aircraft involved in operations against Iran.
The reinforcements added to tension between Cyprus, Greece and Turkey. Turkey deployed six F-16 fighter jets and air defence systems to Northern Cyprus on 9 March and later declared a Cypriot notice of military exercises null and void. A US congressman called the deployment unacceptable and illegal, and a US official said it violates US arms export rules. Turkey also accused Greece of militarising Aegean islands, and Athens dismissed Turkish protests over a Greek missile deployment on Karpathos. Greece approved the purchase of an Israeli missile and drone defence system worth 3 billion euros together with an upgrade of its F-16 fleet.
European states adjusted their positions in the wider region. Italy sent air defence aid to Gulf states, took command of the EU's Aspides mission and joined a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which its defence minister said is not a war mission. Italy withdrew troops from Erbil after a drone attack on the base, and NATO withdrew its personnel from Iraq. Spain ruled out taking part in operations in Hormuz and moved its special forces from Iraq to Kuwait. The USS Gerald R. Ford docked in Crete for repairs after a fire.
A damaged Russian gas tanker drifted in the Mediterranean near Malta and later toward Libya. Italy held an emergency summit on it on 13 March and its defence minister warned it could explode.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
Click a day in the chart above for that day's brief.