London, United Kingdom. British Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer said the UK has summoned Iran’s ambassador in London to protest Iran’s “role in recent events across the Middle East,” including the firing of a drone that hit the British Akrotiri air force base in Cyprus on Monday.
UK government statement
The British government said the summons “follows escalatory behaviour by the Iranian regime which has attempted to draw the region into a wider conflict,” and said 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.
Italy also summons Iran’s ambassador
The summoning of Iran’s ambassador in London followed a move by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who summoned Iran’s ambassador in Rome earlier in the week over the same matter.
“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.
UK plans additional deployments to Cyprus
The UK is set to deploy its Type 45 destroyer the HMS Dragon and two AW159 Wildcat helicopters to Cyprus to bolster the defences of its bases on the island.
What impact do you think the planned UK deployments to Cyprus could have on security around the bases?