In the Eye of the Storm: Hezbollah’s warnings to Cyprus

The warnings of Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, that Cyprus will become part of the war, if it continues to cooperate militarily with Israel, fell like a thunderbolt in Nicosia. Cypriot government officials seemed surprised by Nasrallah’s stern warning. Yet they know that this warning is not untimely or unprovoked

Those who know what is happening on the island were not surprised, as they have in mind the increased degree of relations between Cyprus and Israel at the socio-economic and military level since 1977 and beyond, after the era of the pro-Arab late Archbishop Makarios III. Especially after 1993, and especially in 2010, Israeli influence in Cyprus has increased due to the deterioration of Turkish-Israeli diplomatic relations.

Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, the writer has repeatedly emphasized the high degree of danger of the war for Cyprus and Crete, due to the Anglo-American bases there, if the war becomes regional. However, the strong Israeli presence in military and intelligence matters has a special role in Cyprus. Israel’s ongoing military exercises with the Cypriot National Guard, such as Agapinore, Onesilos-Gideon, and the frequent stationing of Israeli warplanes at the “Andreas Papandreou” air base in Paphos do not go unnoticed on the opposite Arabian coast of Syria and Lebanon, countries which are in a permanent war relationship with Israel over the Palestinian Question.

Hezbollah of Lebanon is closely following the developments in Cyprus in relation to the secret or non-secret contacts of the Cypriot government with Tel Aviv, which in the last nine months, in the midst of the war in the Gaza Strip, have been particularly increased. In the recent Iranian attack on Israel planes from the US, Britain and France took off from British bases in Cyprus to intercept Iranian missiles and drones over Israel.

At the same time, the American initiative two years ago for the partial lifting of the embargo on the sale of arms to the Republic of Cyprus was taken by Syria, Hezbollah and the Palestinians as a side way of strengthening American regional military activity in favor of Israel. The same view is held by Turkey, which immediately responded by reopening the air base in Lefkonikos of the Occupied with Turkish F16s.

Nasrallah’s message to Christodoulides is clear: “Cyprus should not allow Israeli ships, planes, helicopters and drones to be stationed at Cypriot bases, in addition to the British ones.” This would be considered a hostile action by Cyprus against Hezbollah, which reserves the right to respond in a symmetrical and asymmetrical manner, see migratory.

The question that arises is whether, after the Nasrallah’s warning, Nicosia will weigh the risks and attempt to balance its hitherto largely pro-Israeli policy on the Palestinian Question and its relations with Syria and Lebanon. Otherwise, if Nicosia considers that it has the unaccountable and continues on the same path, then it risks finding itself in the eye of the cyclone of an unnecessary war in which it should not be drawn at all.