Iran Attempted for the First Time to Strike a U.S.-U.K. Base in the Indian Ocean With Missiles—Nearly 4,000 Kilometers From Its Territory

Iran attempted a missile strike on the military base at Diego Garcia Atoll in the Indian Ocean, which is used by the United States and the United Kingdom.

According to US media, including CNN and The Wall Street Journal, citing official sources, two missiles were launched, but neither reached its target.

The Diego Garcia Atoll is located approximately 3,800 kilometers from Iranian territory. As CNN notes, this marks the first instance since the start of the war that Tehran has attempted to deploy missiles of such range. The Wall Street Journal underscores that Iranian authorities had previously stated their missiles’ maximum range was 2,000 kilometers.

The military base on Diego Garcia, part of the Chagos Archipelago, was established in the 1970s and has been actively used by aviation, including during the war with Iran.