In a sharply critical commentary published in his column in the Cypriot news site Offsite, Cypriot journalist Andreas Paraschos has raised serious questions about the Cypriot government's handling of recent security developments involving Iranian military activity near the island — and has pointed to what he calls the unspoken "secret" at the heart of the crisis: the presence of nuclear weapons at the British Sovereign Base Areas in Akrotiri.
According to Paraschos, on Sunday, 1 March, the Cypriot government — through President Nikos Christodoulides and Government Spokesman Letymbiotes — rushed to deny statements made by British Defence Secretary John Healey, who revealed during a television appearance that two Iranian missiles had been launched in the direction of Cyprus, where British military bases are located. Healey clarified that London was "fairly certain" the missiles were not aimed at the bases, but argued the incident demonstrated the "indiscriminate" nature of Iranian retaliatory strikes.
Despite the government's categorical reassurances that there was "no cause for concern" and that all relevant authorities were "on full alert," Paraschos writes that events quickly overtook official rhetoric. Shortly after midnight, while the government's "evaluation mechanism" had reportedly been shut down for the night, a 3.5-metre Iranian-made Shahed drone struck within the military installations at the British base in Akrotiri.
President Christodoulides addressed the nation the following day, confirming the strike and describing the damage as "minor material damage." However, as Paraschos pointedly notes, the drone reportedly hit an American ammunition depot — and no official provided any specific details about the actual extent of the damage.
The columnist highlights the chaotic response that followed: local residents, startled from sleep, drove around in their pyjamas for three hours awaiting government instructions that never came, while the head of Civil Defence appeared unable to explain the authorities' complete absence from the scene during a live television interview.
Paraschos draws a literary parallel with the classic Russian comedy by Alexander Ostrovsky (1823–1885), in which cunning, overconfident characters are undone by their own arrogance — a fate he sees mirrored in the Cypriot government's handling of the crisis.
The columnist also questions the arrival of Greek military reinforcements — four fighter jets and two frigates — as well as expected naval deployments from France, possibly Germany, and Britain. "Did they come to save us, the beautiful Cypriots?" he asks sarcastically, before revealing what he considers the true reason.
The real "secret," Paraschos argues, is that the British Sovereign Bases at Akrotiri constitute NATO's largest nuclear weapons installation in the Eastern Mediterranean, positioned at the soft underbelly of the Middle East. It is this strategic nuclear presence, he contends, that places Cyprus permanently in the crosshairs whenever regional conflicts escalate and unstable leaders gain access to long-range weaponry.
"This is why Cyprus is at risk — and will continue to be at risk," Paraschos concludes starkly, signing off with a military-style "Over and out."