Iran has launched two ballistic missiles against the US-UK base at Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported today.
Mehr stressed that this action “is an important step (…) which proves that Iran’s missile range is greater than what the enemy previously imagined.”
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal noted that Iran had launched two medium-range ballistic missiles at the base at Diego Garcia.
Neither missile struck the base, which is about 4,000 kilometers from Iran, the newspaper had added, citing several U.S. officials.
One missile malfunctioned in flight and a U.S. warship fired a missile to intercept the second, according to two officials.
The Pentagon did not respond to an AFP request for comment.
The Diego Garcia, located on a remote island in the Chagos archipelago, British territory, is one of two bases Britain has given the US permission to use for “specific defence operations against Iran”.
It is a strategically important base for the US, as nuclear-powered submarines, bombers and destroyers are mainly stationed there.
Britain signed an agreement in 2025 to return the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, but retained the Diego Garcia base through a 99-year lease.
