Days after it was reported that Iran attacked the joint US-UK military base Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, a British minister confirmed the same.
Britain’s housing minister admitted in an interview with the BBC on Sunday that Tehran’s attempt to attack Diego Garcia did take place but was unsuccessful.
“Our assessment is that the Iranians definitely targeted Diego Garcia. As we understand it, one missile missed, missed. The other was intercepted and intercepted,” Reed said, confirming an original report by The Wall Street Journal that two missiles had been fired at the base from Tehran.
Read also | US-Israel-Iran war LIVE updates: Oil prices rise as US, Iran trade threats
Although it was initially unknown whether the second missile was successfully intercepted, Reed’s comments seem to confirm that it was. However, the British minister refused to say how far from the base the missiles landed.
Reed went on to say that there was no evidence to suggest that Iran was specifically targeting UK interests: “There is no concrete assessment that the Iranians are targeting the UK or even could if they wanted to,” the British minister said.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Tehran’s attempt to attack Diego Garcia took place before Prime Minister Keir Starmer approved the use of its bases by US forces for defensive operations and strikes against actors threatening trade through the Strait of Hormuz, where maritime traffic is currently virtually at a standstill.
Following initial reports of an attack on Diego Garcia, Israel’s military also said on Saturday that Tehran had fired two intercontinental ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia, adding that such missiles demonstrated Tehran’s ability to hit European capitals.
Read also | Bessent defends US strikes on Iran, says ‘to de-escalate you have to escalate’
“These missiles are not intended to hit Israel. Their range extends to the capitals of Europe – Berlin, Paris and Rome are all within direct threat range,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said.
The WSJ said in its first report that Tehran’s attempt to target Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, more than 4,000 km away, marked Iran’s first significant attempt to target US interests far beyond the Middle East.
The attempted attack also sparked debate about the range of Iran’s ballistic missiles, with many noting that the targeting of Diego Garcia indicated that Iran’s capabilities were greater than its enemies believed.
With Diego Garcia undamaged, it appears the US will use the base as a base of operations against actors threatening trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
Read also | Iran warns of “total closure” of Hormuz if the US attacks its power plants
As oil prices have steadily risen since the start of the conflict, US President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum on Sunday, warning Tehran that US forces would “wipe out” Iran’s energy infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz was not opened for trade within 48 hours.
“If Iran does not FULLY open the Strait of Hormuz WITHOUT THREAT within 48 HOURS from this exact moment, the United States of America will strike and obliterate its various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST FIRST!,” Trump warned.
Trump’s comments on Sunday were a dramatic reversal from his earlier comments on Friday, where he spoke of “ending” the war.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Friday that the U.S. is “coming closer to meeting our goals as we consider ending our major military effort in the Middle East.”
