The United States’ attack on Iran that killed Ayatollah Khamenei has spread a ripple effect across the region, particularly the Mideast, but is also roiling Cyprus – home to a British air base that’s a target – and has Greece on edge.
Greece is a key ally of the U.S. and Cyprus – once again, it is caught in the crosshairs but it is being careful to indicate it is not involved in any way in the war which has seen 162 Greek citizens safely repatriated from the Middle East.
The Foreign Ministry said 93 citizens and family members were gotten out of Oman on a special flight arranged by Greece’s embassies in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi and another 42 transported by road from Bethlehem to Egypt, accompanied by the Greek consul general in Jerusalem.
In a separate operation, 27 members of the youth team of Thessaloniki-based sports club Aris traveled by air from the United Arab Emirates to Constantinople and then by road to Thessaloniki.
The catalyst in the ongoing strikes against Iran, aimed at preventing that country from having a nuclear bomb capability is Israel, fearful that could lead to its annihilation and which has gone after Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon as well as delivering blows against Iranian targets.
Iran has no chance against the combined might of the U.S and Israel but in 2026 warfare has new weapons: drones with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) that can reach Cyprus, as well as cyberattacks against governments and militaries.
And for the first time since the end of World War II, 81 years ago, an American submarine sank an enemy vessel with a torpedo, striking an Iranian warship in international waters near Sri Lanka, killing at least 87 crew members.
Iranian retaliation has been mostly stymied, although six American soldiers were killed in attacks on American facilities in the Mideast but so far the U.S. Naval base in Souda Bay on Crete has not been targeted, nor is it certain that Iran could.
Greece will of course stand with the U.S. as it has in every war and battle but with the conflict widening in the region there is understandable worry that it could draw in other countries to support the operation.
Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said measures taken by Greece are “absolutely sufficient” to protect from potential strikes, while noting that Crete, the location of the Souda Bay base, lies “at the limits of the maximum range” of Iranian weapons.
He told Alpha TV that if a threat emerges, “the defense systems in between will not allow it,” and that a Patriot anti-aircraft battery would be sent to the island of Karpathos to improve national coverage.
Dendias said that Greek armed forces on Cyprus would protect the Greek-Cypriot side of the island, where the northern third has been occupied by Turkey since its invasion in 1974.
And now Turkey was a target too, with a ballistic missile fired from Iran shot down by NATO forces – Greece and Turkey are a member of the defense alliance – although Turkey has been accused of supporting Hezbollah, the terrorist organization attacking Israel from Lebanon with rockets and missiles.
World War I started by accident in 1914 when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, triggering a series of alliances and conflicts among European powers and brought in the U.S.
The attack on Iran, while widening, doesn’t show indications it will involve a large number of countries although Iran’s attacks on American sites have hit across the Mideast, including Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Iran denied firing at Turkey, although truth is always the first casualty in war and right now this conflict shows signs of spiraling out of control.
Dendias told Parliament, in response to a question about drones launched from Lebanon that, “we see the trajectory of systems coming from Lebanon or Iran. We have not seen a threat toward Greece.”
He said the Greek frigate Kimon is in Cyprus and that the Greek Navy’s navigation systems were fully operational and that missile and drone warfare vindicated investment in the Achilles’ shield air defense.
He said that Greece would protect national and European interests – that would have to include the U.S. under a military cooperation agreement – and that Greece is “very far” from any operation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S Senate has abdicated its role and that of Congress that is supposed to vote on going to war so there is no telling what direction the conflict will take although it’s a mathematical certainty that Iran cannot win – but it can inflict casualties.
‘Danger Close’ is a military term for firing artillery, naval gunfire, or airstrikes near friendly troops who are in danger of being overrun, in land-based battles with forces in close proximity, but in this technological age that can be measured in thousands of miles, not meters.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has wisely steered Greece through the rough waters and proved himself more than capable in dealing with danger, far or close, although Cyprus is in a more precarious position.
Cypriots were advised about locations of 2,500 shelters in case of an attack and have been given instructions on preparing emergency backpacks with water, cash, and whistles to take if danger is close.