Greece has relocated a Patriot air-defense battery from the island of Karpathos to Souda Bay on Crete, a move the defense ministry described as aimed at bolstering protection for critical infrastructure at the strategically vital naval base.
The transfer, carried out in the early hours of Sunday, is part of a wider repositioning of air-defense assets across the eastern Mediterranean driven by concerns that Iran is assessing potential strikes on facilities with U.S. interests in Europe. Tehran possesses ballistic missiles with a range exceeding 2,000 kilometres, capable of reaching southeastern European targets. Athens maintains contact with the United States and Israel regarding possible threats to Greek and Cypriot installations.
Greek F-16 fighters deployed to Cyprus are expected to remain on the island. Athens is also considering a Bulgarian request for air-defense assistance, while a decision on the Patriot battery currently stationed in Saudi Arabia is expected from Greece's national security council in the coming days.