Türkiye is considering deploying F-16 fighter jets to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), a defense ministry source said Saturday.
The person said such a move was one of the steps being considered amid the phased planning underway to ensure the security of Turkish Cypriots in the north of the island, as tensions rise in the Middle East with U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Regional tensions surged after the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, triggering retaliation by Tehran on U.S. military targets across the region.
TRNC has been incensed by Greek Cypriot’s growing military cooperation with its Western partners after the United Kingdom has allowed the U.S. to use its military base in the south of the divided island.
British facilities on the island, particularly the Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri, have played an important logistical role in Western military operations in the Middle East in recent years. Iranian forces have warned that installations linked to Western operations could become targets if regional hostilities escalate.
The TRNC leadership has held a series of security meetings in response to the crisis, he added, focusing on crisis management, coordination with Türkiye and the preparedness of civil defense mechanisms.
Cyprus has remained divided for more than five decades between the Turkish Cypriot north and the Greek Cypriot south despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement. The TRNC was established in 1983 and is recognized only by Türkiye, while the Greek Cypriot administration represents the island internationally and joined the European Union in 2004.
