According to reports, an intense explosion was heard at a British Royal Air Force base in Cyprus. The explosion was reported at the “British Akrotiri Air Force base in Limassol at around midnight local time after a ‘security threat’ was reportedly declared,” Daily Mail stated. It’s unclear if the reports are related to Iran’s retaliatory strikes amid Operation Epic Fury conducted by the United States and Israel. BREAKING: ALERT SENT TO BRITISH FORCES IN CYPRUS WARNING OF AN “IMMINENT SECURITY THREAT,” URGING PERSONNEL TO TAKE SHELTER pic.twitter.com/JiD5VNhjnS — Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) March 1, 2026 More from The Independent: John Healey said the government did not believe they were targeting the bases intentionally, but said “it shows how indiscriminate” the Iranian retaliation to Saturday’s US-Israel strikes was. But the presidents of the Republic of Cyprus and the unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) have both questioned the claim and criticised Mr Healey for making statements without the full facts. Mr Healey also said that 300 UK military personnel were close to targets that were hit in Bahrain. Mr Healey told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: “This is a really serious and deteriorating situation, (with) rising risks of increasing Iranian indiscriminate retaliatory attacks. “Let me give you a couple of examples. Yesterday, we had 300 personnel on that Bahrain base that was attacked by Iranian missiles and drones, some of them within a few hundred yards of where they landed. “We had two missiles fired in the direction of Cyprus. We don’t believe they were targeted at Cyprus, but nevertheless, 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.” The revelations came a day after Sir Keir Starmer said the UK had ordered “planes in the sky” over the Middle East on defensive operations to protect our allies. Although the UK did not participate in Operation Epic Fury, British fighter jets “downed an Iranian drone which was headed to Qatar,” Daily Mail noted. “Keir Starmer has given the US permission to launch ‘defensive’ strikes on Iranian missile sites from UK bases,” the outlet wrote. Watch Starmer’s full update below: My update on the situation in the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/DvsOVcTDMy — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) March 1, 2026 Daily Mail shared further: The Prime Minister, alongside France and Germany, threatened to join the war on Iran by taking defensive action to stop the ‘appalling’ missile and drone bombardments targeting allies in the Middle East. The decision comes after a day of conversations between Sir Keir and regional leaders, including the kings of Bahrain and Jordan, the crown prince of Kuwait, the sultan of Oman and the president of Cyprus to discuss the security situation and the UK’s defensive actions. Sir Keir claimed the UK has learned lessons from ‘the mistakes of Iraq’ and he would only allow strikes for the ‘limited specific defensive purpose’ of defending British allies. He said it is ‘my duty to protect British lives’ from Iranian ‘scorched earth strikes’ but ruled out taking part in pre-emptive strikes. The PM said it ‘remains the case’ the UK is not involved in strikes on Iran and will ‘not join offensive action now’. He claimed the decision was as a result of a ‘collective self-defence’ of allies and to protect British lives from Iran’s furious bombardment across the Middle East. The PM said the US can use the bases for the ‘specific and limited defensive purpose’ of hitting missile launch sites or storage depots in Iran. He said the move was in accordance with international law, and the government would publish a summary of its legal advice.