Military experts have warned that Iran could soon have the potential to strike European capitals, after it launched long-range missiles at a key UK-US military base 1000’s of miles away.
Last night, Tehran launched two ballistic missiles towards the strategically vital base on Diego Garcia, a jointly owned base within the Chagos Islands 2,360 miles from Iran.
Neither missile hit its goal within the attack, which was condemned by the Ministry of defence as ‘reckless’ and a ‘threat to British interests and British allies’.
One is believed to have malfunctioned during flight, while the opposite was intercepted by an American warship before impact.
The attempted strike suggests advances in range that would eventually bring parts of Europe nearby.
The Foreign Secretary condemned the strike stressing that the UK has ‘taken a unique position from the US and Israel’ on the conflict.
Iran targeted Diego Garcia within the Chagos Islands before the federal government gave the US permission to strike missile sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, but it surely will not be clear exactly when the 2 intermediate-range ballistic missiles were fired.
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment on when the attack was launched.
The Every day Mail reported that Iran could have used intermediate range ballistic missiles or an area launch vehicle to spice up range.
Eyal Zamir, the pinnacle of the IDF, said in a televised address that the weapon was able to reaching European capitals.
‘Iran launched a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile with a variety of 4,000 kilometres toward an American goal on Diego Garcia island,’ Zamir said.
‘These missiles are usually not intended to strike Israel. Their range reaches European capitals — Berlin, Paris, and Rome are all inside direct threat range.’
Steve Prest, a retired Royal Navy commodore, told the Every day Mail: ‘Ballistic missiles are space rockets. They launch, they go really high up they usually come down really fast. In case you’ve got an area program, you’ve got a ballistic missile program.’
The attack on Diego Garcia happened per week after Israeli forces carried out a strike on Iran’s primary space research facility in Tehran, amid concerns it was getting used to develop technology able to targeting satellites in orbit.
Foreign affairs analyst Nawaf Al-Thani said missile threat is ‘not confined to the Gulf, Israel or parts of South Asia’, and key European capitals equivalent to Paris could be within the included range. London is within the ‘fringe of vulnerability’.
He said in a post on X: ‘For years, the accepted ceiling was around 2,000 kilometres. A ballistic missile reaching Diego Garcia suggests something within the neighbourhood of 4,000 kilometres, which pushes it out of the medium-range category and into the intermediate-range class (IRBM). That could be a strategic leap.
‘If confirmed, Diego Garcia was not only a goal. It was a message.’
The strike comes just days after an Iranian missile hit a military base within the United Arab Emirates, which is home to US, UK and Australian troops.
Explosions were heard near the military base, which is utilized by Western nations as a transit hub throughout the region.
Meanwhile, Iran has said it would proceed to stop shipping traffic from US and allied ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which is used to move a fifth of the world’s oil supplies.
Brits were encouraged on Friday to earn a living from home and use air fryers as a substitute of ovens to minimize demand for energy.
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