Cyprus travel warning

US issues Cyprus travel warning as Middle East war edges closer to Europe

“Threat of armed conflict” sparks warning from State Department.

By Milena Wälde

The U.S. State Department has urged people to “reconsider travel” to Cyprus and authorized the departure of nonemergency government personnel and their families, citing growing security risks as war in the Middle East ripples across the eastern Mediterranean.

American and Israeli strikes on Iran have triggered a broader regional conflict as Tehran fires missiles and drones at countries across the Gulf.

The State Department warned Americans to reconsider travel because of the “threat of armed conflict” and said “there have been significant disruptions to commercial flights” since hostilities between the United States, Israel and Iran began on Feb. 28.

Cyprus is increasingly being pulled into the conflict.

A drone strike hit a runway at the British RAF Akrotiri base earlier, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said, prompting Nicosia to cancel an informal meeting of EU affairs ministers.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain would deploy the destroyer HMS Dragon, while French President Emmanuel Macron announced France would send a frigate and air-defense systems to the island.

With Greek F-16s now on the island and European warships moving into the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus will continue to be the epicenter of EU concern about the war spilling over onto its territory.