Iran fires missiles at remote UK-US range, claims long-range capabilities it previously denied

LONDON — Iran has fired missiles at the UK-US Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean, saying the strike shows it can strike at longer distances than before.

“Iran’s reckless attack, attacking the region and seizing the Strait of Hormuz, is a threat to the interests of Britain and Britain’s allies,” said a spokesman for the UK Ministry of Defense on Saturday, confirming the failed strike.

Tehran fired two medium-range missiles at the Chagos Islands, a remote British overseas territory more than 2,000 miles from Tehran, Iran’s Mehr media reported on Saturday. No missile hit the base, he added, although neither Iran nor the UK would specify how close the missiles came to Diego Garcia.

The range of the attempted strike would show that Iran has the long-range strike capability it has previously denied, with a base that is the same distance from Iran as much of central Europe. However, it is not clear how much payload the missiles were carrying or how far such an attack would reach, as none of the missiles hit their targets.

In an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country deliberately kept its missile range below 1,250 miles “because we don’t want to feel threatened by anyone else in the world.”

The Wall Street Journal, citing several officials, reported that one of the missiles was shot down by a US warship and the other failed to fly.

Mehr said targeting the base “is an important step … that shows that the range of Iran’s missiles is beyond what the enemy previously thought.”

One analyst said the intercepted missile may be the “longest-range missile” ever fired by the US.

Iran has been testing “larger, more robust missiles” for years, Tom Karako, director of the missile defense project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told NBC News. “So it’s not surprising at all.”

There had been speculation before Iran could strike beyond the 1,250-mile limit, he added, “it hasn’t shown its cards yet.” Diego Garcia’s attack will “look like” then, he said.

Friday’s attack came shortly before the UK announced it would allow the US to use its bases, including Diego Garcia, to strike targets near the Strait of Hormuz.

Government ministers have agreed to allow the US military to use its bases to carry out “defensive operations” to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said on Friday, weeks into a dispute that has seen Britain, like most of Europe, remain on the sidelines.

About 20% of the world’s daily oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which runs along part of Iran’s coast. But since the war began at the end of February, shipping to the station has stopped.

President Donald Trump said the decision to allow the use of UK bases “is a very late response from the UK” He had criticized the country for the lack of support for Iran, saying that his Starmer “is not Winston Churchill.” He called his NATO allies “cowards” on Friday for refusing to provide warships to support the reopening of the naval station, even though he had previously said their support would not be needed.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Starmer was “putting British lives at risk” by allowing the use of the bases.

“The majority of the British people do not want any part in the war of choice between Israel and the US in Iran,” Araghchi wrote in X. “With no regard for his own people, Mr Starmer is putting British lives at risk by allowing UK bases to be used to attack Iran. Iran will exercise its right to self-defence.”

Starmer has so far walked the tightrope on Iran, balancing diplomatic ties with Trump and protecting UK assets in the Mediterranean by avoiding direct involvement in a war that has shown the polls to be unpopular with the British public.

The Diego Garcia base is 2,360 miles from Iran and is home to an airfield capable of landing US long-range bombers.

The Chagos Islands, which are bases, have been part of a separate rift between the UK and the Trump administration, after Britain agreed to cede sovereignty over the territory to Mauritius and lease the base.

Trump has wavered between supporting the proposed deal and publicly attacking Starmer over it, most recently urging Starmer not to “give Diego Garcia” in February, despite Washington offering its official support just days ago.

Mauritius, an Indian Ocean country close to China, has argued that it was illegally forced to cede the islands to Britain for independence. The International Court of Justice sided with Mauritius in a 2019 case on the site, issuing an advisory ruling that declared Britain’s invasion illegal.

As part of the deal backed by Starmer, the UK and the US will maintain a 99-year lease of the Diego Garcia military base.