Iran’s missiles are a threat to European cities – including London, Paris and Berlin – after the attack on the UK-US Diego Garcia military base on the Chagos Islands, Israel has warned.
The attempted strike involving two ballistic missiles was unsuccessful, with one shot down by a US warship and the other failing in flight.
The exact timing of the attack is still not clear, but it is 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.
In response, the Ministry of Defence condemned the attack, calling it “a threat to British interests and British allies”.
Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper insisted ministers were supporting defensive action only and wanted to see a swift resolution to the war – but Tory leader Kemi Badenoch claimed the UK was being “dragged into” the Iran conflict.
On Friday, after the agreement with the US, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the UK was putting British lives at risk by allowing its bases to be used in the war.
Following news of the attack on Diego Garcia, on Saturday night the Israeli military claimed the strike was the first time Iran had launched intermediate-range ballistic missiles, it said could reach a distance of 4,000km (2,485 miles).
In a statement posted on X, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said they “pose a danger to dozens of countries in Europe, Asia and Africa”. It continued: “We have been saying it: The Iranian terrorist regime poses a global threat. Now, with missiles that can reach London, Paris or Berlin.”
Before the weekend, experts had said an Iranian attack on Britain was very unlikely, with Iran’s offensive capabilities not assessed as long-reaching enough. The distance between Iran to the UK is around 4,435km (2,750 miles).
However, Gen Sir Richard Barrons, former head of the UK’s Joint Forces Command, told BBC’s Today programme on Saturday: “Previously we thought Iran’s missiles had a range of 2,000km and Diego [Garcia] is 3,800km (2,360 miles) from Iran.”
He added: “War generally does not follow a script and the enemy always gets a vote and, in this case, the enemy’s vote, Iran, has been serially underestimated.
“We are where we are. This conflict and the way it has turned out now puts British interests and those of our allies at risk and ignoring it completely is no longer appropriate even if the decisions at the start of the conflict were very different.”
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.”
The warning from the IDF was reiterated by its chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, in a video released on Saturday night. He said: “Iran launched a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 4,000km towards an American target on the island of Diego Garcia.
“The missiles were not intended to hit Israel. Their range reaches the capitals of Europe. Berlin, Paris and Rome are all within direct threat range.”
The message was issued as the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s Aerospace Force claimed that the country will launch more missiles towards Israel overnight.
Seyed Majid Mousavi wrote on X: “Tonight, the skies over the south of the occupied territories will remain illuminated for hours.”
Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump, who had said the US was considering “winding down” its military operation against Iran, hit back at critics of the US operation, claiming in a post on social media that the US “has blown Iran off of the map”.
He added: “Their leadership is gone, their navy and air force are dead, they have absolutely no defence, and they want to make a deal.”
