European military installations are targeted in Iran retaliation

BERLIN — Iranian strikes on the weekend targeted regional bases that host European troops, triggering air defense systems and sending soldiers to seek shelter in bunkers.

“We can confirm that attacks took place yesterday and today on the multinational military bases in Erbil, Iraq, and Al Azraq, Jordan,” the Operational Command of the German Armed Forces said in a Sunday statement, adding “air defense measures” had been activated.

The German soldiers based there were relocated into air raid shelters and were unharmed, the command’s statement continued.

Other countries known to have recently been based in Erbil include Norway, Sweden, Italy, France, Hungary and the Netherlands, though some troops were relocated ahead of the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

In their initial statements, European nations were emphatic that they did not participate in the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, although they simultaneously did not downplay their dislike for the Iranian regime.

The first European Union statement on Saturday reiterated that the Union was opposed to Iran’s “murderous regime” and had placed sanctions on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, which the EU also recently designated a terrorist organization. The EU called for “maximum restraint” and stressed the importance of nonproliferation and its longstanding preference for a diplomatic resolution of the crisis.

“For regional security and stability, it is of the utmost importance that there is no further escalation through Iran’s unjustified attacks on partners in the region,” Ursula von der Leyen, the EU Commission’s president, said on X, formerly Twitter. She scheduled a high-level meeting to discuss the situation for Monday, two days after the initial attacks.

Although European nations were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran, their direct involvement in the crisis remains possible, given that European assets and missions are scattered across the region.

The EU’s Operation Aspides naval mission, which protects shipping in the Red Sea against strikes from Houthi rebels in Yemen, was extended for another year last week, and is set to receive a reinforcement of two French warships , bringing the total to five. The mission’s mandate was due to expire on Feb. 28, the day that the regional war began.

On Monday morning, news broke that an Iranian drone had struck the British Royal Air Force base Akrotiri on the island of Cyprus, per The Guardian. This came just hours after the U.K. government had decided to grant U.S. forces access to its bases for strikes on Iran. No casualties and only “limited” damage were reported. The two large military base areas in the south of Cyprus − Akrotiri and Dhekelia − are considered sovereign British overseas territories.

Meanwhile, the French foreign ministry on Monday rejected chatter on X that the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier was being sent to the Eastern Mediterranean.

European governments estimate that tens of thousands of their citizens are in the region, also owing to the United Arab Emirates’ popularity as a destination, residence and stopover location. Spain and Germany each estimate over 30,000 of their citizens are currently in the Middle East.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

柏林——伊朗周末对驻有欧洲军队的地区基地发动袭击，触发了防空系统，迫使士兵躲进掩体。

德国联邦国防军作战指挥部在周日发表声明称：“我们可以确认，昨天和今天，位于伊拉克埃尔比勒和约旦阿兹拉克的多国军事基地遭到袭击。”声明还补充说，“防空措施”已经启动。

该指挥部声明还表示，驻扎在那里的德国士兵被转移到防空洞，没有受到伤害。

已知近期在埃尔比勒驻扎过军队的国家还有挪威、瑞典、意大利、法国、匈牙利和荷兰，不过在美以对伊朗发动袭击之前，一些军队已被转移。

欧洲各国在最初的声明中强调，他们没有参与美国和以色列对伊朗的袭击，尽管他们同时也没有淡化他们对伊朗政权的厌恶。

欧盟周六发表的首份声明重申，欧盟反对伊朗的“杀人政权”，并对伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队实施制裁。欧盟近期还将伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队列为恐怖组织。欧盟呼吁各方保持“最大限度的克制”，强调防止核扩散的重要性，并重申其长期以来倾向于通过外交途径解决危机。

欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩在X平台（原推特）上表示：“为了地区安全与稳定，至关重要的是，伊朗不应通过对地区伙伴发动无端袭击而导致局势进一步升级。”她已安排在周一召开高级别会议讨论局势，此时距离最初的袭击事件发生已过去两天。

尽管欧洲国家没有参与对伊朗的最初打击，但考虑到欧洲的资产和任务分散在整个地区，它们直接介入这场危机仍然有可能。

欧盟的“蜘蛛行动”（Operation Aspides）海上任务旨在保护红海航运免受也门胡塞武装的袭击。该任务上周获得延期一年，并将迎来两艘法国军舰的增援，使舰艇总数达到五艘。该任务原定于2月28日到期，而这一天正是地区战争爆发之日。

据《卫报》报道，周一上午，一架伊朗无人机袭击了位于塞浦路斯岛的英国皇家空军阿克罗蒂里基地。就在几个小时前，英国政府刚刚决定允许美军使用其基地对伊朗发动空袭。据报道，此次袭击未造成人员伤亡，损失“有限”。位于塞浦路斯南部的两处大型军事基地——阿克罗蒂里和德凯利亚——被视为英国的主权海外领土。

与此同时，法国外交部周一驳斥了有关“戴高乐”号航空母舰将被派往东地中海的传言。

欧洲各国政府估计，由于阿联酋作为旅游目的地、居住地和中转站的受欢迎程度，有数万名欧洲公民身处该地区。西班牙和德国分别估计，目前有超过3万名本国公民在中东。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。