UK Royal Navy ships anchor off coast of Southern Cyprus

This picture taken on July 1, 2021 shows a view of Royal Navy and US Marine Corps F-35B Lightning multirole combat aircraft parked aboard the deck of the Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier while moored in the new port of Cyprus’ southern city of Limassol. [ROY ISSA/AFP via Getty Images]

Amphibious assault ships from the UK’s Royal Navy have dropped anchor off the coast of Southern Cyprus, while more than 1,000 Royal Marine commandos are in position at RAF Akrotiri in Britain’s so-called “Sovereign Base Area” on the Mediterranean island as the number of foreign military forces increases amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, according to local media.

On Friday, added Anadolu, US Navy amphibious assault ship the USS Wasp docked at the Limassol Port in Southern Cyprus. Opposition parties and some activists protested against the US warship’s arrival in the port, but Greek Cypriot administration spokesperson Konstantinos Letimbiotis claimed that the recent ship and aircraft movements are part of the island’s humanitarian role in light of developments in the region.

According to press reports in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), an unidentified submarine was spotted by a kayaker off the coast of Limassol.

Following Israel’s military offensive on the Gaza Strip since 7 October last year, as well as the occupation state’s tensions with Iran and Lebanon, the media has criticised the military build-up by the US and several European countries in Southern Cyprus, as has AKEL, the main opposition party in the administration.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon announced that the US will deploy additional military assets to the Middle East ahead of possible Iranian retaliation after the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which Iran blamed on Israel although Tel Aviv, as usual after such political murders, has neither admitted nor denied responsibility. Tensions are running high in following the 31 July assassination of Haniyeh and Israel’s assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in an air strike on a southern suburb of Beirut a day earlier.

Iran has vowed “harsh punishment” against Israel for killing Haniyeh, while Hezbollah is expected to retaliate for the killing of Shukr.

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