Israel’s foreign minister has accused Iran of plotting to attack Israelis on Cyprus, hours after the arrest of a terror suspect on the Mediterranean island. Listen to our Trump 100 podcast as you scroll.
Saturday 21 June 2025 18:30, UK
It’s 6.30pm in the UK, 8.30pm in Israel and 9pm in Tehran.
If you’re just joining our live coverage, here are the latest headlines from the last few hours:
Meanwhile, in Cyprus…
We have some more to bring you now on the British man arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of espionage and terrorism offences.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman has confirmed it’s in contact with Cypriot authorities regarding the arrest of a British man.
Local media reported that the man is alleged to have links with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and that he was keeping RAF Akrotiri – the UK’s most important airbase for operations in the Middle East – under surveillance.
The Philenews website said the man was arrested yesterday following intelligence he was planning an imminent terrorist attack.
He is alleged to have lived in a flat in Zakai, Limassol, close to Akrotiri and was observed near the base carrying a camera with a long lens and three mobile phones.
Earlier today, Israel’s foreign minister said the IRGC tried to carry out an attack on Israeli citizens in Cyprus. It is unclear at this moment whether this is linked to the British man arrested by police.
By Mark Stone, US correspondent
Some context on this B-2 movement – which is all caveated by the fact that we really don’t quite know what is going on.
They have left their home base in Missouri and are heading west to the Pacific region, not east to the Middle East. They are heading to Guam.
It’s possible they could then continue that way round the world and end up in the Middle East / CENTCOM area of operations. The Pentagon has referred all inquiries to the White House.
It’s also logical for the US to want to maintain a show of force in the Asia-Pacific region to counter any Chinese assumption that America is distracted.
Remember that Donald Trump has already authorised the redeployment of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group out of the Pacific region last week to bolster military force in the Middle East. The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and its fleet had been deployed to Asia.
In the context of countering Chinese expansionist desires, vis a vis Taiwan, the Iran crisis presents immediate military logistical challenges for the US given that its military might is in the Middle East.
But it also presents America with longer term strategic challenges – China is watching how America responds in Iran.
The calls for America not to get involved in another foreign war are encouraging for a Chinese leadership with eyes on Taiwan.
We now have more to bring you on the earlier report that the US is moving several of its B-2 bombers (see 15.46 post).
Our US partner network NBC News, citing two defence officials, says a group of bombers took off from the Whiteman air base in Missouri overnight and are now heading to Guam.
It’s unclear at this point whether the bombers, which are designed for long-range strike missions, are planning to land at Guam or not.
The B-2 aircraft are capable of delivering the 30,000lb bunker buster bombs that would be needed to successfully attack Fordow, the Iranian nuclear facility buried 300ft inside a mountain.
On Thursday, Donald Trump said he would make a decision on whether to strike Iran “in the next two weeks”. The deployment of the bombers suggests the US president may be prepared to launch a strike sooner than expected.
Israel’s foreign minister says Iran’s Revolutionary Guard tried to carry out an attack on Israeli citizens in Cyprus.
Posting on X, Gideon Sa’ar says the attack war thwarted thanks to Cypriot security authorities in cooperation with Israeli security services.
He did not provide any further details on the alleged attack. There was no immediate comment from Iran.
‘Iranian spy’ arrested in Cyprus
It comes as, earlier today, Cypriot authorities confirmed they had arrested a British man on suspicion of terror-related offences and espionage.
Local media reported the suspect had been watching a British RAF military base in nearby Akrotiri, as well as a Cypriot base, since mid-April.
It is not known at this point if the man is linked to the plot alleged by Sa’ar.
The Israeli military has just revealed further information about its strikes in southwestern Iran today.
It says around 30 jets struck “dozens of military targets” in the areas of Ahvaz “with over 50 munitions”.
“As part of the strikes, IAF fighter jets struck a site where missile launchers were stored, some of which had launched missiles in the past toward the State of Israel,” it added.
The military says jets also struck radar detection system sites and other military infrastructure.
By Dominic Waghorn, international affairs editor
Israelis are good at tactics, poor at strategic vision, it has been observed.
Their campaign against Iran may be a case in point.
Short termism is understandable in a region that is so unpredictable. Why make elaborate plans if they are generally undone by unexpected events? It is a mindset that is familiar to anyone who has lived or worked there.
And it informs policy-making. The Israeli offensive in Gaza is no exception. The Israeli government has never been clear how it will end or what happens the day after that in what remains of the coastal strip. Pressed privately, even senior advisers will admit they simply do not know.
It may seem unfair to call a military operation against Iran that literally took decades of planning short-termist or purely tactical. There was clearly a strategy of astonishing sophistication behind a devastating campaign that has dismantled so much of the enemy’s capability.
But is there a strategic vision beyond that? That is what worries Israel’s allies.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have warned they will target US ships in the Red Sea if America becomes involved in Israeli attacks on Iran.
Washington agreed to halt its bombing campaign against the Houthis in May after the Iran-aligned group agreed to stop targeting shipping in the Red Sea in return.
The UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed that a centrifuge manufacturing site at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site was hit earlier today.
This is “the third such facility that has been targeted in Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear-related sites over the past week,” according to the International Atomic Energy Agency boss Rafael Grossi.
“We know this facility well,” he added. “There was no nuclear material at this site, and therefore the attack on it will have no radiological consequences.”
Centrifuges are used to enrich uranium, which can be used for domestic purposes but also for nuclear weapons.
A group of US stealth bombers appear to be on the move as tensions increase over whether America will join the Israel-Iran conflict.
According to Fox News, flight tracking data shows the B-2 warplanes, which are designed for long-range strike missions, heading off the west coast of America.
The reports adds that the bombers apparently refuelled after launching from Missouri, indicating they launched without full tanks due to a heavy onboard payload.
The B-2 aircraft are capable of delivering the 30,000lb bunker buster bombs needed to attack Fordow, the Iranian nuclear facility buried 300ft inside a mountain.
On Thursday, Donald Trump said he would make a decision on whether to strike Iran “in the next two weeks”. The deployment of the bombers suggests the US president may be prepared to launch a strike sooner than expected.
It’s unclear where exactly the bombers are heading to, though. Reported destinations include either Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean or a US military base in Guam.
The US would need British permission to launch strikes from Diego Garcia, over which the UK maintains sovereignty.
This would not be necessary if they deployed from the base in Guam.
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