According to Bloomberg, Iran on Friday fired ballistic missiles that targeted the US-UK joint military base Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, further escalating the already volatile conflict.
The attack indicated a level of missile capability beyond what Tehran was previously believed to possess. Diego Garcia, a critical military air base capable of hosting B-2 stealth bombers, lies about 4,000 kilometers from Iran. Citing sources, the report said the joint US-UK facility suffered no damage.
It was the first reported instance of Tehran deploying weapons with a range of more than 2,000 miles in the three-week conflict. The Wall Street Journal reported that one missile failed in mid-air while another was intercepted by a US warship using the SM-3 system.
An Indian Express report suggests that such an operation suggests Iran may have developed and fielded medium-range ballistic missiles, an advance beyond its known inventory, which largely included medium-range systems with a range of up to 3,000 km.
Iran target Diego Garcia
Bloomberg reported that Friday’s strike came hours after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government authorized the US to use British bases, including Diego Garcia, for “specific and limited defensive operations”. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized the decision.
Attempting to strike a strategically important base in the Indian Ocean also increases the risk of the conflict spreading beyond the Middle East.
William Alberque, a senior fellow at the Europe-based Pacific Forum, said: “No one, and I mean no one, had any idea.” Iran possessed missiles of such a range. He added that the strike likely involved a modified system, perhaps even a prototype, suggesting the presence of devices capable of making such modifications.
Alberque further suggested that Iran could have reduced the missile’s payload or removed its warhead to extend its range. He also suggested that the weapon may have been a one-off modified design.
The Iranian minister states a limit of 2000 km
Weeks before the incident, Araghchi rejected claims by US President Donald Trump that Iran was developing long-range missiles capable of hitting the United States or was close to producing a nuclear weapon. He claimed that Iran had deliberately limited the range of its missiles to 2,000 km, describing the program as “strictly defensive”. But U.S. officials quoted by the Wall Street Journal said Friday’s strike cast doubt on that claim.
Diego Garcia
According to the Associated Press, Washington described the Diego Garcia base as an “indispensable platform” for operations in the Middle East, South Asia and East Africa. The base hosts around 2,500 personnel, mostly American, and has supported US military campaigns from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, the United States admitted that Diego Garcia was used for secret flights of suspected terrorists.
(with contributions from Bloomberg)
