Turkish intelligence finds Cyprus assisting Israeli military
Turkish intelligence reported on June 25th that southern Cyprus is acting as a military base assisting Israel’s operation in the Gaza strip, Middle East monitor reports.
Türkiye’s Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, announced on Turkish news channel, Haberturk, that Greek Cyprus is facilitating tactical support to Western allies and Israel. Ankara reported their findings to their European counterparts who declared that southern Cyprus only served as a “logistics base”.
Fidan dismissed the assertion of a logistical base as an attempt to veil its military purpose which neither benefits the southern Cyprus nor Greece. “The regional actors need to see this. There is serious militarisation there” that “needs to be prevented” stated the minister.
RAF Akrotiri has been increasingly receiving U.S. and UK military aircraft over the past year according to numerous news outlets. The deliveries have reportedly been used to support the Israeli offensive in Gaza through supplying arms and ammunition. The base is additionally used for surveillance in the region along with intelligence gathering.
READ: Cyprus claims it’s not part of Hezbollah Israel war
Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, has identified Cyprus’ purported involvement in the conflict as evidence to make the country a potential target. Hassan Nasrallah , the Secretary-general for Hezbollah, warned Nicosia against supporting Israel in its efforts in Gaza.
“Opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon would mean that the Cypriot government is part of the war, and the resistance will deal with it as part of the war” if a full Israeli invasion of Lebanon happened, Nasrallah stated.
Cyprus continues to deny allegations of involvement in the offensive. President, Nikos Christodoulides, emphasised the country “not involved in any way”. The President further stated that Cyprus is “part of the solution” through the country’s participation in establishing a maritime aid route in Gaza to relieve the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
Middle East Monitor and agencies
