Iran has fired missiles at a joint US-UK base in the Indian Ocean as it warned British lives were “in danger” after prime minister Sir Keir Starmer backed the US to carry out further strikes.
Tehran directed two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands but neither hit. One of the missiles wasreportedly shot down by a US warship, while the other failed in flight.
It is undertood that the attack took place before Downing Street said on Friday that UK bases will now be used for US “defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships”.
On Saturday, the minitry of Defence condemned the attack as “reckless”.
Diego Garcia is around 2,360 miles away from Iran and home to an airbase capable of accommodating long-range US bombers, with around 2,500 American troops based on the island.
The UK has agreed to cede sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius and lease back the base, in a move that has strained relations with Washington in recent months.
Diego Garcia is strategically valuable to the US, and has been used as a launchpad for operations in the Middle East for years, with Donald Trump describing the deal as a “big mistake”.
At the conclusion of the Second World War, concerns began to grow within the US administration that their access to overseas bases was diminishing, as more countries became independent from colonisation.
With naval planners concerned over the prospects of Russia and China getting a stronger foothold in the Indian Ocean, it was suggested that the Diego Garcia base would allow the US to project power in the region.
Given that the UK had established a base there during the war and it remained under their administrative status, it was decided in 1961 that the British government would detach the Chagos Archipelago from colonial Mauritius for future military use.
After secret negotations, the US agreed to make payments to the British of up to $14m for its use.
A report from Chatham House noted: “Since then, the military base in Diego Garcia has served as an anchor for American operations.
“The island hosts an extensive airfield with runways long enough to accommodate large military aircraft like B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, reconnaissance aircraft and transport planes. It also has major fuel storage facilities, radar installations, and control towers that can support regional military operations.”
During the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq War, it was a critical launchpad for US air operations.
