Get you up to speed: Iran launches ballistic missiles towards Diego Garcia military base, raising European threat level
Iran launched two ballistic missiles towards the Diego Garcia military base, which is jointly owned by the UK and US, located 2,360 miles from Iran. Although neither missile hit its target, the attack indicates potential advancements in Iran’s missile capabilities, suggesting European capitals may soon be at risk.
Military experts have indicated that the recent launch of ballistic missiles by Iran towards Diego Garcia signifies advancements in Iran’s missile capabilities, potentially allowing for strikes on European capitals, including London, which is now considered to be on the “edge of vulnerability.” Foreign affairs analyst Nawaf Al-Thani stated, “For years, the accepted ceiling was around 2,000 kilometres,” noting that the attack suggests a range closer to 4,000 kilometres, which marks a strategic leap into the intermediate-range category.
Military experts have indicated that Iran’s capability to strike European capitals may be imminent, following a recent missile attack on a UK-US military base on Diego Garcia. Iran has stated it will persist in obstructing shipping traffic from US and allied ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Fears Iran’s missiles could reach London after Diego Garcia attack | News World
Experts have also suggested Iran could have used a space launch vehicle to enable its ballistic missiles to reach Diego Garcia military base (Picture: Getty/IDM)
Military experts have warned that Iran could soon have the capability to strike European capitals, after it launched long-range missiles at a key UK-US military base thousands of miles away.
Last night, Tehran launched two ballistic missiles towards the strategically important base on Diego Garcia, a jointly owned base in the Chagos Islands 2,360 miles from Iran.
Neither missile hit its target in the attack, which was condemned by the Ministry of defence as ‘reckless’ and a ‘threat to British interests and British allies’.
Diego Garcia is a strategic base jointly owned by the UK and US (Picture: Mehmet Yaren Bozgun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
One is believed to have malfunctioned during flight, while the other was intercepted by an American warship before impact.
The attempted strike suggests advances in range that could eventually bring parts of Europe within reach.
The Daily Mail reported that Iran could have used intermediate range ballistic missiles or a space launch vehicle to boost range.
Steve Prest, a retired Royal Navy commodore, told the Daily Mail: ‘Ballistic missiles are space rockets. They launch, they go really high up and they come down really fast. If you’ve got a space program, you’ve got a ballistic missile program.’
London is in the ‘edge of vulnerability’ of a missile attack (Picture: Daily Mail)
The attack on Diego Garcia happened a week after Israeli forces carried out a strike on Iran’s primary space research facility in Tehran, amid concerns it was being used to develop technology capable of targeting satellites in orbit.
Foreign affairs analyst Nawaf Al-Thani said missile threat is ‘no longer confined to the Gulf, Israel or parts of South Asia’, and key European capitals such as Paris would be in the included range. London is in the ‘edge 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 in the neighbourhood of 4,000 kilometres, which pushes it out of the medium-range category and into the intermediate-range class (IRBM). That is a strategic leap.
‘If confirmed, Diego Garcia was not just a target. It was a message.’
If the Diego Garcia strike report is accurate, then one of the central assumptions about Iran’s missile program has just collapsed. For years, the accepted ceiling was around 2,000 kilometers. A ballistic missile reaching Diego Garcia suggests something in the neighborhood of… pic.twitter.com/MxD16567NM
— Nawaf Al-Thani نواف بن مبارك آل ثاني (@NawafAlThani) March 21, 2026
The strike comes just days after an Iranian missile hit a military base in the United Arab Emirates, which is home to US, UK and Australian troops.
Explosions were heard near the military base, which is used by Western nations as a transit hub within the region.
Meanwhile, Iran has said it will continue to stop shipping traffic from US and allied ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which is used to transport a fifth of the world’s oil supplies.
Brits were encouraged on Friday to work from home and use air fryers instead of ovens to lessen demand for energy.
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