UK summons Iranian ambassador over Cyprus drone strike

British Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer announced that he has summoned Iran’s ambassador in London to protest the country’s “role in recent events across the Middle East”, including the firing of a drone which hit the British Akrotiri air force base in Cyprus on Monday.

The British government stated that the summons “follows escalatory behaviour by the Iranian regime which has attempted to draw the region into a wider conflict”, and that Iran has been “attacking countries who had not attacked them”.

“This presents a clear threat to the security of the region and to the hundreds of thousands of British citizens in the region. Iran must be held accountable for its actions. The UK government is clear that protecting national security and the lives of British nationals remains our top priority,” it said.

The summoning of Iran’s ambassador in London comes after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani summoned Iran’s ambassador in Rome over the same matter earlier in the week.

“I made it clear to the Iranian ambassador, after the attack which took place in Cyprus, that Europe has nothing to do with it, that it should not under any circumstances get involved in this story,” Tajani said at the time.

Meanwhile, the UK is set to deploy its Type 45 destroyer the HMS Dragonand two AW159 Wildcat helicopters to Cyprus with the aim of bolstering the defences of its bases on the island.