LONDON, March 2 — An Iranian drone hit the runway of a UK air force base in Cyprus today hours after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain would not join the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

He said that mistakes of the Iraq war had been “learned”.

Starmer announced late yesterday that he had agreed to the United States’ request to use British bases for “specific and limited defensive purpose”.

Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer insisted today that “the UK is not at war”.

“Let me be really clear: the UK took a deliberate decision not to be part of the first wave of strikes conducted by the United States and Israeli governments.

“But in the face of reckless attacks from Iran on a whole range of allies in the region... we took the decision, as the Prime Minister announced last night, to support the US’s request to use our bases in order to conduct defensive actions,” he added.

Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper said the strike on the Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri had been “specifically on the airport runway” and that the government was “working on every possible option” to help its nationals in the region return home if needed.

“There’s an estimated 300,000 British citizens in Gulf countries that have now been targeted by Iran, including countries where now airspace is closed,” she told Sky News.

She urged nationals to register with UK authorities and follow local advice.

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said the strike took place just after midnight (2200 GMT) when “a Shahed unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into the military facilities of the British Bases in Akrotiri, causing minor material damage”.

The RAF Akrotiri base is a British overseas territory near the southern coastal city of Limassol.

‘Mistakes of Iraq’ -

More than 100,000 UK nationals have so far registered their presence in the Middle East, according to Cooper.

Scottish teacher Felicity Flanagan, who lives in Dubai, said she had been sheltering at home since Saturday when she heard loud bangs while at the beach with friends.

“Moments later, we actually saw what we believed to be shrapnel from the missile then fall into the water in front of us,” she told the BBC’s Radio Scotland.

She said she was now following British embassy advice not to venture out.

The Cyprus strike prompted the European Union to vow solid backing for its member state.

“While the Republic of Cyprus was not the target, let me be clear: we stand collectively, firmly and unequivocally with our member states in the face of any threat,” European Commission president chief Ursula von der Leyen said after talks with Christodoulis.

Starmer, speaking late on Sunday before news of the strike on RAF Akrotiri, said the decision not to be involved with the initial strikes was “deliberate”.

“I want to be very clear: we all remember the mistakes of Iraq. And we have learned those lessons,” he said in a video address posted on X.

“We were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran and we will not join offensive action now,” he added. — AFP