The UK is safe from Iranian missiles, a cabinet minister has insisted as the government played down shock claims Tehran has developed long-range firepower capable of reaching Britain.
Israel issued a stark warning that Iranian missiles are a threat to European cities – including London, Paris and Berlin – after two ballistic missiles were unsuccessfully fired towards the UK-US Diego Garcia military base on the Chagos Islands.
But Israel was accused of exaggerating the threat to build support for the war, even as experts suggested Britain would be left vulnerable if Iran did have the capability to hit the UK.
Insisting that the UK is safe from Iranian threats, housing secretary Steve Reed told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: “We have systems and defences in place that keep the United Kingdom safe, and that will continue to happen.”
He repeatedly refused to say how close the missiles had come to Diego Garcia, which is thousands of miles from Iran, but insisted that the fact that one was intercepted and the other failed shows “that our defensive capabilities are correct”.
Asked later if he accepted reports that the UK could be hit by Iranian missiles, he told Times Radio: “No. There’s no assessment that I’m aware of that says either that the Iranians would target Europe, or even that they could if they wanted to.”
It comes as tensions in the region escalated again, with Iran threatening to destroy energy targets across the Middle East after Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or the US would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants.
Iran hit back, saying the key waterway is open to all but “Iran’s enemies” and vowing to target energy and oil infrastructures across the Middle East and completely shut the strait if the US President executed his threats.
Meanwhile, two Iranian missiles hit the towns of Arad and Dimona in Southern Israel overnight on Saturday, injuring scores of civilians in one of the worst attacks of the war so far on Israeli soil. The Israeli military said hours later that it was striking Tehran in response.
Hours after Mr Reed’s comments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on his nation’s warning, saying Iran has the capacity to reach “deep into Europe”.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Netanyahu said: “They fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Diego Garcia – that’s 4,000 kilometres. I’ve been warning all the time. They have now the capacity to reach deep into Europe. They already have fired on a European country, Cyprus. They are putting everyone in their sights.
But Israel has been accused of exaggerating the risk to Britain to build support for the war on Iran, which began when they and the US launched surprise strikes intending to topple the country’s regime last month.
Lord McDonald, the former top civil servant at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said: “Frankly, there’s no evidence that they have missiles of this capability apart from an Israeli source. And the Israeli agenda is to get Europe more concerned, more involved, more supportive of what they’re doing.”
He added that even if Iran aimed at Diego Garcia “they didn’t hit their target. And I think that is an important fact”.
He conceded, however, that it was “true” the UK could be vulnerable to such a strike as we do not have a comprehensive missile defence system.
Former foreign secretary James Cleverly also said it was not useful to “start setting hares running” about Iran’s missile strike capabilities, adding: “The Iranian regime are very, very good at disinformation and they’re very good at twisting anything that might go out on broadcast.”
On Saturday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was the first time Tehran had launched a long-range missile since the start of the war, and showed it was now capable of reaching cities previously thought to be out of reach.
It claimed the missiles could go a distance of around 4,000km, meaning they posed a danger to dozens of countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. In a post on X, it said: “We have been saying it: The Iranian terrorist regime poses a global threat. Now, with missiles that can reach London, Paris or Berlin.”
Diego Garcia is around 3,800km (2,360 miles) away from Iran. The distance between Iran and the UK is around 4,435km (2,750 miles).
As he refused to say how close Iran’s long-range missiles had come to reaching Diego Garcia, Mr Reed insisted that to do so would only help Iran.
He also would not be drawn on whether the government backs Mr Trump’s 48-hour deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, saying it was a matter for the US President.
Mr Trump’s threat comes barely a day after he talked about “winding down” the war, and as US Marines and heavy landing craft are heading to the region.
Responding to his ultimatum, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf wrote on X that critical infrastructure and energy facilities in the Middle East could be “irreversibly destroyed” if Iranian power plants are attacked.
Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards said it would also mean the shipping lane, where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally transits along Iran’s southern coast, would remain shut.
“The Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed and will not be opened until our destroyed power plants are rebuilt,” the IRG said.
