—🇹🇷🤝🏳️ NEW: Türkiye’s defence ministry warned it “will not hesitate” to use its guarantor powers against “hostile attitudes” threatening Turkish Cypriot security, after an Iranian-made drone targeted the British Akrotiri base in Cyprus and a ballistic missile fired from Iran was shot down over Türkiye’s Hatay province, reportedly aimed at Incirlik airbase.

➡️ Ankara’s message came as Greece deployed F-16s and frigates to Cyprus and prepares to send an air force delegation to Türkiye as a “confidence-building measure,” underscoring how the widening regional conflict is now intersecting directly with the Cyprus file.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇨🇾❓🪖🇬🇧 NEW: Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said “nothing has been ruled out” regarding the future of the UK’s sovereign bases on the island, after talks in Nicosia with MI6 chief Blaise Metreweli and days after an Iranian-made drone struck the RAF Akrotiri base.

➡️ The drone incident has reignited long-standing political opposition to the bases, with Akel and other parties rejecting a parliamentary resolution condemning the attack and instead warning that the British military presence poses security risks for Cyprus.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—✈️🇹🇷🤝🏳️ NEW: Türkiye is set to deploy four F-16 fighter jets to Ercan (Tymbou) airport in northern Cyprus on Sunday, following Greece’s deployment of four F-16s to Paphos earlier this week amid heightened tensions after Iranian-made drones and missiles targeted Cyprus and Türkiye.

➡️ Multiple NATO and EU states, including France, Italy, Spain and the UK, have already sent or announced naval and air assets to the island and surrounding waters, with Athens and Ankara now signalling rare alignment over Cyprus’ role in the unfolding regional crisis.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇮🇷/🇧🇬 NEW: Iran’s ambassador has stated that Bulgaria is not a legitimate target for Iranian military action, addressing concerns that Sofia could be drawn into any potential escalation.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇦🇱/🇮🇹 FACT: The oldest known Arbëresh (Italo-Albanian) flag still in existence is the Piana degli Albanesi flag from 1744, preserved by the Petrotta family in Sicily, Italy.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇮🇷/🇧🇦 WATCH: A small pro-Iran march was held in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital Sarajevo in open defiance of a police order banning the gathering on security grounds.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🪖🇷🇴 NEW: Romanian company OVES has developed and successfully tested an AI-enabled cruise missile dubbed "Sahara," offering a range of up to 250 km with a 10 kg explosive payload.

➡️ The firm is also working on extended-range variants between 500–600 km and 900–1,100 km, positioning the system as a scalable, lower-cost cruise missile option.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

🇦🇪🤝🇰🇷❌🇮🇷❗️ — According to South Korean officials, approximately 30 ballistic missile interceptors are scheduled to be delivered to the UAE tomorrow aboard a C-17 transport aircraft.

▶️The interceptors are being transferred from South Korea’s reserve stockpiles.

▶️Under the current defense agreement, a total of ten M-SAM-II air defense batteries are planned for deployment.

▶️At present, two of these M-SAM-II systems are already operational in the UAE.

—🇨🇭 Switzerland votes to permanently protect cash

➡️ Switzerland has approved in a national referendum a constitutional guarantee to preserve cash as a permanent means of payment, with 73% of voters backing an initiative that prevents physical money from being replaced by purely virtual currency.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—❗️🛢❌🇷🇸 BREAKING: The Serbian government has introduced a 10-day ban on the export of crude oil, diesel, gasoline and other petroleum products used as engine fuel, in a move aimed at shielding the domestic market from shortages and sharp price spikes amid global supply disruptions.

➡️ The measure applies to all modes of transport until March 19, after which Belgrade will decide whether to extend, modify or lift the restriction.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

—🇹🇷/🇬🇷 NEW: A Turkish Bayraktar TB-2 UAV conducted surveillance near the Greek border opposite Didymoteicho and Orestiada in the Evros region, performing circular reconnaissance patterns around 18,000 ft one day after Greece announced the deployment of Patriot systems and F-16s to support Bulgaria’s air defence.

➡️ The UAV likely operated from the Turkish drone base in Keşan, a key hub for monitoring the Greek-Turkish border.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English

🇹🇷🇪🇺❌🇮🇷 — The Turkish Defense Ministry says a ballistic missile launched from Iran entered Turkish airspace and was intercepted by NATO air defense systems.

—☦️✝️ WATCH: Air-raid sirens sounded inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Christianity’s holiest site.

✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English