Iran denies targeting Diego Garcia amid speculation about missile range

A senior Iranian official on Sunday denied to Al-Jazeera that Iran attempted to launch a missile strike against the US-UK military base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

This came after the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Iranian missiles had attempted, but failed, to strike the base on Diego Garcia.

The alleged attack sparked widespread speculation about the range of Iran’s ballistic missiles. Diego Garcia is located approximately 3,800 kilometres to the southeast of Iran, while Iran previously said that its missiles had a maximum range of 2,000 kilometres.

The UK’s housing minister Stephen Reed told the BBC on Sunday, "Our assessment is that the Iranians certainly targeted Diego Garcia. As we understand it, one missile fell short, failed, the other was intercepted and prevented.”

"But I don't think it's a surprise this has happened, Iran has been recklessly firing missiles around the region," he added.

A few hours after the alleged attack, the UK permitted the US to use the Diego Garcia base and the Fairford base in southwest England to strike “missile sites and capabilities used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.”

Following the alleged attack, the Israeli army tweeted that Iran was developing missiles that had a range of 4,000 kilometres and could strike “Paris, London, and Berlin”.

However, Reed denied the claim, telling the BBC that there was “no assessment supporting what is being said”.

Reed stressed that “no one will drag the United Kingdom into this conflict,” noting that there is no “specific assessment indicating that Iranians are targeting the UK or that they could do so if they wished.”

Diego Garcia is one of the most important US military bases outside the United States. Construction began in 1971, and it serves as a major launch point for air and military operations in the Middle East. It hosts B-2 bombers, refueling aircraft, surveillance planes, and supports naval fleets.

Located in the Chagos Archipelago - currently administered by the UK as part of the British Indian Ocean Territory - the island is crescent-shaped and strategically positioned near key maritime routes such as the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Strait of Malacca.

It provides Western forces with rapid deployment capabilities across the Middle East, South Asia, and East Africa.

Hundreds of the island’s original inhabitants were displaced to construct the military base.