LONDON: Britain’s defense secretary said Sunday that Iran’s retaliatory attacks after US-Israeli strikes included “two ballistic missiles fired in the direction of Cyprus,” but which were likely not targeting the Mediterranean island.
“We had two ballistic missiles fired in the direction of Cyprus,” John Healey told the BBC, noting UK warplanes were involved in “defensive” actions in the region, operating from the UK’s air base on the island and from a base in Qatar.
“Now we are pretty sure they weren’t targeted at Cyprus, but nevertheless it demonstrates how our bases, our personnel, military and civilians at the moment are at risk,” he said, without providing further details about the missiles and any interception of them.
Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said he had spoken to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and that the UK leader had “confirmed clearly and unequivocally that Cyprus was not a target.”
“We are maintaining direct communication. All relevant authorities are fully engaged and monitoring developments closely,” Christodoulides added on X.
Healey had revealed the previously undisclosed missile incidents as pointing to “a really serious and deteriorating situation” in the Middle East.
He said the risk was rising of “indiscriminate” retaliatory attacks by Iran.
“It’s an example of how there is a very real and rising threat from a regime that is lashing out widely across the region, and that... requires us to act defensively,” he told Sky News in a separate interview Sunday.
“Alongside the Americans, we’ve stepped up our defensive forces in the Middle East. We’re flying those sorties. We’re taking down the drones that are menacing either our bases, our people or our allies,” Healey said.
Separately, the UK Foreign Office on Sunday urged British citizens in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to “shelter in place” amid the escalating conflict.
The Foreign Office “now advises against all but essential travel to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE,” it said on X in its latest update.
“If you are a British national in those countries, you should shelter in place and register your presence,” the ministry added.
The UAE, and Dubai in particular, is a popular destination for British tourists and emigrants, with UK television news outlets airing interviews Sunday with numerous Britons in Dubai who had witnessed explosions.
UK says missiles fired in ‘direction of Cyprus’ during Iran conflict
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UK says missiles fired in ‘direction of Cyprus’ during Iran conflict
- “Nevertheless it demonstrates how our bases, our personnel, military and civilians at the moment are at risk,” Healey said
Flash floods in Nairobi kill 23, disrupt flights at major airport
- Ruto said he had deployed a team of emergency responders, including soldiers, to coordinate rescue efforts
- “I have also ordered that relief food from our national strategic reserves be immediately released”
NAIROBI: Aid workers pulled bodies from floodwaters across Nairobi on Saturday after flash floods that began overnight killed at least 23 people, swept away dozens of cars and disrupted flights at East Africa’s biggest airport, authorities said.
Kenyan President William Ruto said he had deployed a team of emergency responders, including soldiers, to coordinate rescue efforts, while offering condolences to the affected communities.
“I have also ordered that relief food from our national strategic reserves be immediately released and distributed to families affected by the floods,” he said in a statement on social media.
In the industrial neighborhood of Grogan, security guard John Lomayan, 34, looked at the body of an elderly man he recognized — a roadside egg seller — trapped beneath a car that had been washed away when the Nairobi River burst its banks.
“I saw him being carried by the water from up there,” he said, gesturing up the road. “We didn’t know where he had gone. It is only now that we see him under the car.”
Bus driver John Mwai recounted how he turned his bus into a rescue vehicle to move people to higher ground.
Kenya Airways said the rains had disrupted flights to Nairobi and forced some to divert to the coastal city of Mombasa.
Scientists say global warming is worsening floods and droughts across East Africa by concentrating rainfall into shorter, more intense bursts. A 2024 World Weather Attribution study found climate change had made devastating rains in the region twice as likely as before.
A Reuters reporter saw three bodies pulled from underneath cars. Some of the dead had been electrocuted by damaged power lines. National provider Kenya Power separately said the waters had damaged equipment at a substation, listing 14 neighborhoods that had been affected.
“So many cars, so much stuff, I don’t know. Everything was just (washed away). All of the water (came) ... from that river,” shocked resident Cedric Mwanza said, referring to the Nairobi River.
