Between humanitarian neutrality and the regional military alliance — Cyprus becomes a key hub for Israeli safety projection, transatlantic cooperation and crisis logistics in the east Mediterranean. In the background there are tensions with Turkey and threats from Lebanese Hezbollah appear. Nicosia tries to keep a balance between the function of an ally and avoiding escalation.
We are checking how Cyprus has become a pillar of the Israeli screening of safety and energy and what this means for this region.
Cyprus has undergone a profound transformation in a strategical sense over the last 2 years. From a country considered comparatively peripheral, it has become 1 of the pillars of the geopolitical construction of the US and Israel in the east Mediterranean. In September, Nicosia and Washington signed a five-year "road map" of defence cooperation, and just a period later the first circular of Cypriot-American strategical dialog was announced. A framework for cooperation was set up, including military training, safety of critical infrastructure and the implementation of sanctions.
Turkey reacted almost immediately to these events, which assessed this agreement as "a threat to balance in the region".
Experts see in this recovery the logical continuation of earlier tensions. As prof. Jason C. Sharman, a specialist in global financial regulation from the University of Cambridge, reminded the media, after breaking Israel-Turkey relations Tel Aviv had to look for alternate ways of strategical cooperation.
– In this arrangement Cyprus appeared as a natural, democratic, western partner, and at the same time logistically conveniently located," said prof. Sharman.
Cooperation spheres
The key minute in the Cypriot-Israeli relations was the transportation to the island of the Barak MX air defence system. These sets, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries, offer layered defence with capture scope of up to 150 kilometres. Together with them, ELM-2084 radars were delivered, which importantly increase the "situation awareness" in the region.
Cooperation is not limited to equipment. Cyprus and Israel conduct cyclical military exercises, including the Onisilos–Gideon series, as well as taking part in global sea and air maneuvers, specified as the Noble Dina 2025. They are besides attended by the US, Greece, France and Italy, which allows for the improvement of interoperability and the consolidation of common command procedures.
In the opinion of Duncan Hames, Political manager at Transparency global UK and erstwhile parliamentarian, "the anticipation of integrating recognition, defence and logistics systems with Israeli and American troops makes Cyprus a point of gravity of Western safety in the region".
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Let's add that Larnaka became the center of Cypriot operational presence. It is from there that the sea humanitarian corridor to Gaza is organized — a task agreed with Israel and the United Nations, which since the spring of 2024 has enabled the provision of civilian assistance to the Gaza Strip. Humanitarian aid, before being transported by sea, undergoes an inspection in Larnaca, which involves Israeli specialists.
Despite highlighting only the humanitarian nature of this mission, Cyprus did not avoid controversy. In June Ub.r., the then leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah (died from the Israeli assassination) in his tv speech threatened that ‘if Cyprus makes its territory available for military operations against the Palestinians, it will not stay unanswered’. The authorities in Nicosia powerfully cut off the charges, highlighting the neutrality and the purely logistical role. Nevertheless, Hezbollah's rhetoric has included Cyprus in the regional game of tension.
According to Kathryn Westmore, a British think tank expert, RUSI, “the anticipation of utilizing Cypriot infrastructure as an indirect platform for military activities – although presently unconfirmed – induces preemptive reactions from “actors” specified as Hezbollah”.
There have besides been reports of Israeli personnel in the Larnaca Air Control Tower. The government did not confirm this information, but it besides did not unequivocally deny it, which was fueled by speculation and fear.
Cables and gas
Energy cooperation between Cyprus and Israel is besides taking on a fresh dimension. The large Sea Interconnector project, including the HVDC Greece-Cypr-Israel energy link, was recognised by the European Union as a task of Community importance. The contractor is the Greek IPTO operator and the investment is not only applicable for the safety of energy supply but besides as a tool for the geostrategic association of partners.
In September this year, the European Public Prosecutor's Office opened proceedings on possible financial irregularities in the management of the project. The Cypriot Government ensures that it cooperates with EPPO and maintains GSI as a strategical priority. At the same time, in February this year, Aphrodite's fresh gas deposit improvement way was agreed – in partnership with the Chevron–Shell–NewMed consortium – to be exported to Egypt through the pipeline and the possible usage of a floating FPSO processing unit.
Andrea Gacki, manager of the American FinCEN and erstwhile head of the OFAC, estimates that "the east Mediterranean region is becoming a key space for combining Western-Cyprus energy and financial security, as an EU associate and US partner, naturally fits into this chain".
Turkey at NO
In fresh weeks, many articles have appeared in Turkish media on Israeli influences in Nicosia, and journalists are even talking about "the increasing shadow of Zionist colonialism in Cyprus".
The dailysabah.com portal recalls that the past of the Cypriot dispute dates back to the early 1960s, erstwhile Greek Cypriots gradually began to restrict the constitutional rights of the Turkish island community.
"The yet organised coup in Cyprus by Greece to annex the island by Greece led to Turkey's intervention in 1974, which became a warrant of the protection of Cypriot Turks from persecution and violence. After constant failure to scope political agreement, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was established in 1983. The Greek Cypriot administration entered the EU as a full associate in 2004, in the same year that the Greek Cypriots themselves blocked the UN plan to end the dispute. In the following years, she witnessed the peace process with interruptions, including the failed initiative in 2017 in Switzerland under the auspices of the warrant countries Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom,” recalls Turkish media and adds that Israel is harassing Turkey, which opposes inhuman attacks on the population in the Gaza Strip.
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Publicists besides point out that the number of Israeli citizens acquiring ownership and residence rights in the administration of the Greek Cypriots is expanding and that is what establishes a fresh form of impact on Cyprus. In fresh years, an expanding number of Israeli citizens have obtained gold visas through investments. They say there's about 20,000.
"Similar military procurement and non-military attempts to establish influences on the island are considered to be a manifestation of a transition from temporary cooperation to long-term strategical structuring. These events can surely make Cyprus a dispute not only between Turks and Greeks, but besides between Jews. due to the fact that Israel will ally with the Cypriot Greeks against Turks and Turkey, and this will supply Israel with geopolitical depth, military-technology interoperability and an economical and energy lever on the island," wrote Turkish writer and prof. Yucel Aser, expert in political discipline and global law in his column.
Cyprus under pressure
In the assessment of observers, Cyprus is present in a situation that combines strategical opportunities with a increasing spectrum of risks. In an optimistic scenario, the country strengthens its position as a unchangeable Western ally, with developing defence, logistics and energy infrastructure. In a more pessimistic scenario, it becomes a ‘magnet’ for threats – from verbal threats to incidents at sea or in the air.
Maira Martini, manager of Transparency International, notes that "without a clear transparency policy and the separation of humanitarian functions from military, Cyprus may accidentally enter the field of regional disputes."
Key questions stay open: are Israel and the US ready to supply real guarantees in case of escalation? Will the EU treat Cyprus as an integral part of energy safety and the military continent? Finally, can the Cypriot authorities keep the balance between pragmatism and caution?
In specified a complex situation, Cyprus must act at respective levels simultaneously. Firstly, it is essential to communicate clearly and publically the scope of the presence of Israeli and American actors on the island, peculiarly with respect to critical infrastructure specified as airports or ports. Secondly, Nicosia should keep a permanent deescalation channel for Lebanon, highlighting only the humanitarian nature of the maritime corridor to Gaza.
In relations with Washington and Brussels, it will be crucial to strengthen the procedures for incidental management, including in the area of navigation, inspection, military exercises or the presence of 3rd forces. Finally, Turkey should proceed its military-technical channels and avoid actions which could be interpreted as provocation.
As Thom Townsend, Executive manager of Open Ownership points out, “Cypr can become a model of a average state that gains regional position not by dominance but by precise hazard management, transparency and flexibility of alliances”.
It is this flexibility, extended between Israel, the US, the EU and the realities of the region, that will find whether Cyprus will become a guarantor of stableness or a hostage of another people's decisions.
