Southern Europe: Security

In March, the security situation in the Eastern Mediterranean intensified following a drone strike on the UK's Akrotiri air base in Cyprus, which Cypriot and UK officials attributed to an Iranian-made drone. The UK government also reported that Iran fired two missiles toward the island. In response, the United Kingdom deployed the destroyer HMS Dragon to Cyprus, while multiple European nations, including France, Greece, Spain, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands, sent military assets such as frigates, fighter jets, and anti-drone systems to the region. Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis stated Greece's deployment of F-16s and frigates was specifically to protect British bases.

These developments were accompanied by a significant Turkish military deployment of six F-16 fighter jets and air defense systems to northern Cyprus, which the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member, labeled a threat. The European Union has increased its support for Cyprus in response. Concurrently, several Southern European governments demonstrated reluctance to engage in broader conflict. Spain closed its airspace to US military aircraft involved in operations against Iran and denied the US use of its bases, while Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy all declared they would not participate in military operations in the Strait of Hormuz.

Separately, Italy announced the temporary withdrawal of its troops from a training base in Erbil, Iraq, following a drone attack on that facility. Within domestic security contexts, police in Athens made several arrests during Independence Day observances, and false bomb alarms targeted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office and party headquarters.