Details: Iran fires missiles at controversial island base

Hans Österman

Published 06.46

Finally, Trump agreed to use the remote air base out in the sea.

Now Iran has responded by sending missiles at the island.

Less than a month ago, the country's foreign minister said that such an attack would be impossible.

The island of Diego Garcia is located in the  Indian Ocean, about 400 miles from Iran. It is under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom and has a joint British-American military base with a runway long enough for the United States' heaviest bomber. 

On Friday, Iran fired two medium-range ballistic missiles at the island, according to the  Wall Street Journal and CNN. Neither of them hit. According to the WSJ, one crashed in mid-air while the other was shot down by an American SM-3 anti-aircraft missile. According to the newspaper, there is no reliable information that Iran's missile was actually shot down, only that it did not hit its target.

          

          Aerial photo taken by the US military fleet on Diego Garcia, Chagos Islands. Archive photo. Photo:            US Military/AP

The attack shows that Iran's medium-range missiles reach further than the regime itself claims. At the end of February, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the country had voluntarily limited the range to 200 miles. 

The American think tank Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, however, has assessed that Iran has missiles that can reach 400 miles. The Israeli Alma Research and Education Center has in turn stated the maximum range at around 300 miles, but with the reservation that there are reports of development of missiles that can reach even further.

            

           Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Photo: Khalil Hamra /AP/TT

Used in the Iraq War

The US has stationed both bombers and submarines on Diego Garcia. The island also has a harbor deep enough for aircraft carriers. The base has been considered strategically important since World War II and played a significant role in the wars against Iraq in 1991 and 2003, according to the Chatham House think tank..

Even before Israel and the US attacked Iran this year, Trump criticized Britain for ist  plans to let Mauritius  own the island. The conflict escalated when the British refused to give the US access to their bases on Diego Garcia and in Fairford during the outbreak of the war.

Finally, on March 1, Starmer backed down and announced that the US had agreed to “limited defensive use” of the facilities. On Friday, the British government announced that the bases could also be used for specific attacks against Iranian troops attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian Foreign Minister was quick to comment on the new deal. In a post on X, he wrote:

“A vast majority of the British people do not want to participate in Israel and the US’s self-imposed war on Iran. By ignoring his own people, Mr Starmer is risking British lives by allowing British bases to be used for attacks on Iran. Iran will exercise its right to self-defense.”