EditCyprus steps into diplomatic role as Iran requests message to Israel amid regional tensions
The country's President Nikos Christodoulides said Iran had asked him to deliver a message to Israel
On 15 June Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides announced that Iran has asked Cyprus to relay a message to Israel, underscoring the island nation’s growing role as a regional mediator amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict.
Speaking after a memorial service in Spilia, Christodoulides revealed plans for a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver the message, originally scheduled for the previous evening but postponed due to the chaotic fallout from Iran’s missile strikes on Tel Aviv and Haifa.
Cyprus, geographically just 200 miles from Israel’s coast, is acutely sensitive to the conflict’s potential to destabilize the eastern Mediterranean. Christodoulides also expressed frustration with the European Union’s sluggish response, urging an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council meeting to address the crisis, while emphasizing Cyprus’s diplomatic outreach to Egypt, India, and EU leaders to foster de-escalation.
Christodoulides highlighted Cyprus’s unique position as a trusted interlocutor in a volatile region, noting, “We speak to all countries in the area, and we’ve been asked to convey a message, which we will do.” He stressed the need for dialogue to end the “difficult state of affairs” that yields no resolution, referencing Iran’s retaliatory strikes, which killed at least 10 Israelis, and Israel’s Operation Rising Lion, which targeted Iran’s nuclear and military sites, killing 224, mostly civilians, per Iranian reports.
The Cypriot President said he had spoken to the President of the European Council António Costa ahead of the G7 meeting in Canada telling him that the EU was “slow to react” in the context of the Israel-Iran conflict.
“In view of the G7 Summit that will be held in Canada, I asked the President of the European Council, who will represent the EU together with the President of the European Commission, to raise the issue at this important Summit, while at the same time – I want to say it publicly – I also expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the EU was slow to react. We saw a joint statement that was issued yesterday after the phone call with the President of the European Council, there were one or two states that disagreed with the wording, while at the same time we requested, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, that an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council be held”, he said, adding:
“It is not possible for the EU to claim a geopolitical role, to see all these developments and not have at least, at the very least, a convening of the Council of Foreign Ministers. So, we have requested from the EU through the Minister of Foreign Affairs and I believe that a Council of Foreign Affairs will be held.”
The president also addressed concerns about the British military bases on Cyprus, clarifying that the UK has repeatedly stated they were not used in the conflict, countering speculation about their involvement. As Cyprus hosts India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a historic visit – the first in over 20 years – Christodoulides plans to discuss the crisis, given India’s strategic interest in connecting to Europe via the Middle East through Cyprus. His call for a proactive EU role, echoed in a joint statement with European Council President António Costa, reflects Cyprus’s push for global cooperation at the G7 Summit in Canada, where the Israel-Iran conflict tops the agenda, amid fears of a broader war disrupting oil markets and regional stability.
The original article in Greek can be found here.
Caption: The President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides is hosting the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in Nicosia, 15 June 2025. [X account of Nikos Christodoulides]
Updated: June 16, 2025 - 07:53
