British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will send warship HMS Dragon to Cyprus to help defend the island following an attack on a British airbase earlier this week, he said in a post on X.
A runway at the British Royal Air Force base of Akrotiri on Cyprus was hit by an Iranian drone on Monday, causing limited damage and no casualties.
According to the British Royal Navy’s website, HMS Dragon is a Type 45 air defence destroyer and is equipped with the Sea Viper anti-air missile system.
Britain will also send helicopters with anti-drone capabilities, Starmer said.
France and Greece have also pledged to send anti-drone systems to Cyprus following the attack on the British base.
U.S. lawmakers slammed the State Department on Tuesday for urging U.S. citizens in the Middle East to evacuate three days after the U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran started and when air travel is severely disrupted.
Lawmakers say it is a sign of lack of proper planning.
On Monday, the department urged Americans across 16 countries in the Middle East to immediately depart the region using “available commercial transportation” without offering any U.S.-government-vouched means.
The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem in a statement said it was unable to offer assistance to Americans trying to leave.
“American tax payers are forced to give Israel $3.8 BILLION every single year, and here is our own U.S. embassy in Jerusalem telling Americans good luck getting out, you are on your own,” said former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from Congress after a split with Trump earlier this year.
Greene has long advocated against U.S. involvement in foreign wars.
“Warnings to citizens to evacuate 3 days into this war, when airspace is closed, is a clear sign of ZERO strategy and planning by the Trump admin,” Democratic Senator Andy Kim said in a post on X.
The State Department did not immediately respond to questions on how exactly Americans should be departing in the absence of available commercial flights or whether Washington was planning evacuation flights.
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