Iran fires missiles at remote U.K.-U.S. base, claiming long-range capabilities it previously denied

LONDON — Iran has fired missiles at the joint U.K.-U.S.

LONDON — Iran has fired missiles at the joint U.K.-U.S. Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean, claiming the strike shows it is capable of longer-distance attacks than previously known.

“Iran’s reckless attacks, lashing out across the region and holding hostage the Strait of Hormuz, are a threat to British interests and British allies,” a spokesperson for the U.K.’s Ministry of Defense said Saturday, confirming the unsuccessful strike.

Tehran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the base in the Chagos Islands, a remote British overseas territory located more than 2,000 miles from Tehran, Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency reported on Saturday. Neither missile hit the base, it added, though neither Iran nor the U.K. specified how close the missiles came to Diego Garcia.

The distance of the attempted strike could indicate that Iran has capabilities for long-distance attacks that it has previously denied, with the base the same distance from Iran as much of central Europe. It is unclear, however, if the missiles carried a payload or how far such an attack could truly reach, as neither missile reached its target.

In an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” earlier this month, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country had intentionally kept the range of its missiles below 1,250 miles “because we don’t want to be felt as a threat by anybody else in the world.”