Iran firedtwo ballistic missiles at the UK-US Diego Garcia military base on the Chagos Islands, it emerged on Saturday – a target some 2,600 miles away from its borders.
The attack was unsuccessful, with one missile reportedly shot down by a US warship, while the other failed in flight. It was understood to have taken place before the UK government gave the US permission to use its bases to strike Strait of Hormuz targets on Friday,
On Saturday, the Ministry of Defence condemned the attack, calling it “a threat to British interests and British allies”.
Meanwhile, foreign secretary Yvette Cooper insisted the UK will not be involved in offensive action and has “taken a different view from the US and Israel”. She said the government was supporting defensive action against “reckless Iranian threats”.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch warned the UK was being “dragged into” the Iran conflict “whether we like it or not”.
She said: “Today we’re hearing that they’ve been firing missiles on Diego Garcia. The sad thing is, whether we like it or not, we’re being dragged into it and what we need is a prime minister who can think ahead.”
Could an Iranian strike hit the UK?
As the UK is drawn further into the conflict, some in Britain are concerned about the potential for the fallout to reach the mainland.
This is very unlikely, experts have said, with Iran’s offensive capabilities not assessed as long-reaching enough to hit Britain.
Diego Garcia is about 2,600 miles from Iran, while the distance between Iran to the UK is around 3,000 miles – although it’s not clear exactly where the missiles were fired from.
But Sky News military analyst Sean Bell said: “All of a sudden the UK is not far away either so that’s the huge significance. At least Diego Garcia is well protected, London is not. The UK has no effective ballistic missile defence system in place and therefore, this is a very worrying development for the UK.”
Intelligence from the US-based Foundation for Defence of Democracies had previously indicated that Iran’s furthest-reaching warhead is the Khorramshahr 4 missile. The missile can potentially hit targets from 1,200 to 1,900 miles (1,931km to 3,057km) away.
Dr Marion Messmer, director, International Security, Chatham House, previously said: “From what we know about Iran’s missile capabilities, [an attack on the UK is] not possible. Other parts of Europe could be at risk, but the UK is out of range.”
Earlier this month, RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus was hit by an unmanned drone strike. UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Saturday the base will not be used for offensive military actions in Iran.
