{"id":247831,"date":"2026-08-13T16:35:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T16:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/247831\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T16:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T16:35:08","slug":"report-cyprus-pressuring-israel-to-allow-it-to-purchase-merkava-tanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/247831\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Cyprus pressuring Israel to allow it to purchase Merkava tanks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cyprus<\/a> is ramping up pressure on Israel to allow them to purchase Merkava tanks (Mk3 or Mk4), pan-Cypriot daily newspaper Phileleftheros reported on Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Merkava is the primary tank used by the IDF\u2019s Armored Corps. While development for the tank began in 1970, it only entered service in 1979 and was extensively used during the First Lebanon War.<\/p>\n

The Merkava Mark 4 Barak is the version of the tank that is currently in use.<\/p>\n

According to Phileleftheros, opinions within the Israeli government are divided on the matter, with some in support of providing Cyprus with Merkava tanks and some against such a move, wanting the tanks to remain available to the IDF<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Phileleftheros noted that the Merkava\u2019s suitability for Cyprus\u2019s National Guard stems from two main reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"IDFIDF soldiers and Merkava Tank in southern Israel, on the border with Gaza, November 11, 2024. (credit: MICHAEL GILADI\/FLASH90)Israel-Cyprus talks reportedly stall because of Oct. 7<\/p>\n

The first, being the similarity between Israel and Cyprus\u2019s terrain; and the second being the proximity of the two countries, which would ease logistical support for the tanks.<\/p>\n

Talks between Cyprus and Israel for the purchase of second-hand Merkava tanks had stalled with the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War on October 7, 2023, reported Cypriot media, with Israeli reassurances that discussions would resume once the security situation had eased.<\/p>\n

Several other contenders for Cyprus\u2019s National Guard have been put forth, according to Cypriot media, including Greece\u2019s Leopard 1A5 and France\u2019s EBRC Jaguar.<\/p>\n

The Leopard, however, has reportedly been rejected by Cyprus for not meeting the country\u2019s national guard\u2019s operational requirements.<\/p>\n

Several contracts for smaller equipment, such as drones and other equipment that have shorter production times, have already progressed, according to Phileleftheros.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It added that contracts for larger equipment, such as armoured vehicles, are slated to begin in 2028.<\/p>\n

Israel, Greece, Cyprus sign trilateral work plan<\/p>\n

Currently, Cyprus\u2019s National Guard is using Russian-built T-80 tanks, but Russia\u2019s deteriorating relations with Western counties and sanctions placed upon it have made it difficult to reliably secure spare parts and ammunition.<\/p>\n

In December 2025, Israel, Greece, and Cyprus signed a trilateral work plan<\/a> for military cooperation for 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Among other things, the plans include joint exercises and training, working groups in various fields, and strategic military dialogue on issues of joint interest.<\/p>\n

The signing of the plans constitutes another step in deepening military cooperation among the countries and contributes to strengthening stability, security, and peace in the eastern Mediterranean region, the IDF told The Jerusalem Post at the time.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Cypriot media had reported that the Mediterranean country had taken a delivery of Israel\u2019s Barak MX anti-aircraft system.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Cypriot officials at the time declined to comment on the specifics of the report.<\/p>\n

“The only thing I can say is we will and are doing everything necessary to bolster the deterrence force of Cyprus,\u201d Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told reporters in 2024. \u201cNot only because we are a country under occupation, but an EU member state in a region of particular geo-strategic importance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yonah Jeremy Bob and Reuters contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cyprus is ramping up pressure on Israel to allow them to purchase Merkava tanks (Mk3 or Mk4), pan-Cypriot…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247832,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[388,423,37,179,68858,2678],"class_list":["post-247831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-cyprus","tag-idf","tag-israel","tag-military","tag-tank-defense-system","tag-tanks"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117089175215652258","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}