Iranian Ambassador to Cyprus Alireza Salarian said on Friday that Cyprus is not a target in the ongoing war between Iran on the one side, and the United States and Israel on the other.
Speaking to Politis to the point, the Nicosia-based diplomat said Iran did not start this war, but officials at the highest levels have made it very clear that Iran will defend itself and retaliate against any place or military base in the region used to attack the country.
“We have the right to respond,” said the ambassador.
Asked about attacks targeting places not involved in the conflict, Salarian replied: “We deny them. We did not target Oman. We did not target Cyprus. We did not target Azerbaijan or Turkey. Maybe, it was a false flag operation.”
On reports Turkey intercepted a third missile on Friday, the ambassador said Iran enjoys very good relations with Turkey. The Iranian leadership previously announced they did not target any location in Turkey, he said.
On Cyprus, the diplomat pointed to Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos’ statement that the drone that hit the British bases in Cyprus did not come from Iran.
Given reports suggesting the drone came from southern Lebanon, when asked if Iran might have coordinated with Hezbollah to attack the bases, the ambassador replied that Hezbollah decides on its own what to do.
Bases ‘not involved’ in attacks on Iran
However, he did not believe the Shia militant group was responsible, saying: “I don't think this is the case because we already announced that so far, we didn't receive information or confirmation that these bases here have been used against Iran. This is the main reason.”
Salarian referred to the Israeli air attack against Iran in June 2025 which the US joined, noting: “We had a reliable source during the 12-day war that maybe sometimes the bases were used during that time. But now we haven't received any news, or sources that confirm these military bases here in Cyprus were used logistically or for any kind of useage.”
As long as the British bases or any bases anywhere in the region are not used to attack Iran, they are not a target, he added.
‘Cypriots do not want bases here’
“I know the Cypriot government is not involved in any kind of war, directly or indirectly or logistically. The (British) military bases also do not belong to the Cypriot government. We know that very well, that the government has no authority over the bases.
“And we know that the people in Cyprus are not happy to have these military bases in Cyprus because Cyprus is willing to have peaceful relations with all the countries in the region,” he said.
“As a tourist destination, Cyprus wants to have peace and stability in the region. With tourism as a main source of revenue, it is not good for the country to be involved in this kind of conflict,” he added.
Asked why the bases were struck in the first place, Salarian noted that they were only struck once, and reiterated the view that it might have been a false flag operation.
Iran-Cyprus relations
Iran enjoyed “good relations” with Cyprus which it does not want to damage, he said.
Asked if Tehran communicated with Hezbollah to ensure there won’t be another attack, the ambassador replied: “I don’t have any comment on this. But if your government or maybe the relevant authority 100% confirmed that this drone or kind of missile was launched by Hezbollah and asks us to do something, we will consider it, we will follow up. But so far, we don’t have any such confirmation.”
Regarding Cyprus’ role in the region, and as revolving head of the EU Presidency, the Iranian diplomat acknowledged that Cyprus had tried to play the role of intermediary between Iran and the EU prior to the conflict, to develop dialogue in goodwill, but the war put an end to those efforts.
Given Cypriots’ own experience and understanding of war and invasion, Salarian said Iran “expects the people of Cyprus to stand on the right side of history”.
‘EU double standards’
The ambassador expressed his deep dissatisfiaction with European countries’ approach to the regional conflict. While EU countries claim to support human rights, international law and the UN Charter, he argued, they have said nothing about a war that was not sanctioned by any international body. There was no desire to even discuss it in the UN Security Council, he added.
“The EU was united against Russia because of the invasion of Ukraine. What’s the difference between Iran and Ukraine?”
Salarian argued that if the EU had condemned “the first round of the war last June,” that might have given diplomacy more of a chance, instead of giving the “green light” to the US and Israel to attack again.
Asked if reports of the brutal suppression of domestic protests in January and the killing of civilians (some reports suggest 17,000) played a role in the lack of support from EU countries, the ambassador argued that Iran faced “terrorist acts” on January 8-9, which some European countries “unfortunately supported”. He added that the official death toll stood at 3,117.
Bombing during negotiations
Salarian questions why the US and Israel started the bombing campaign on February 28, when just two days earlier, negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme in Geneva had made “progress”. According to the diplomat, both sides had confirmed the negotiations were fruitful, and expressed hope technical talks on the issue could start the following Monday.
The Omani foreign minister – engaged in shuttle diplomacy – flew to Washington to brief top-ranking American officials on the Geneva talks.
“We already approved all the things required from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Director General of the IAEA was also in Geneva at the time,” said Salarian.
“On the nuclear issue, we were very close. […] I don’t know what happened.”
Scope of retaliation
Regarding Iranian strikes on civilian and energy infrastructure in the region, the ambassador maintained that Iran focuses on targeting military bases, not civilian infrastructure.
Asked how this squares with attacks on hotels, the ambassador said military personnel may have been sheltering there.
Regarding the critical Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, through which one fifth of global oil and gas passes, Salarian said Iran did not close the Strait, but put it under its control.
It is prohibiting US, Israel or other countries supporting them from passing vessels through the Strait. “But the other day, I saw that Turkey and India had vessels passing.”
Meanwhile, the Iranian government is still exporting its own oil and gas, he said.
Ending the war
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian set three conditions to end the war on Wednesday: recognition of Iran’s legitimate rights, reparations payments, and firm international guarantees against future aggression.
Asked how this conflict can end, the Iranian ambassador said the last point was the “main point”. Iranians do not want to be sitting in their homes and suddenly get bombarded again, because the US decided to carry out a ‘pre-emptive’ strike, he said.
Salarian called for the foreign military bases in the region to leave, arguing they are a source of instability and insecurity. The countries of the region could go back to discussing a ‘Friendship Pact’, which Salarian said Iran was ready to sign.