Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said last month that it has deliberately limited the range of its missiles to 2,000 miles. If it turns out that they have the ability to reach twice that far - the British-American military base of Diego Garcia is about 4,000 miles away - that is clearly further than previously known.
It definitely is. But that's a pretty big "if," says Peter Haldén, associate professor and university lecturer in military science.
Didn't reach
According to The Wall Street Journal, there were two missiles involved. One of them reportedly malfunctioned, and the other was fired upon by a US warship. However, it is unclear where this happened.
It may very well have been very, very far from Diego Garcia, says Haldén.
If Iran had a range of 4,000 miles with its missiles, they could theoretically reach London, a message that Haldén believes the regime is well aware of.
"It definitely has an effect. People are starting to question the UK's participation, even if it is cautious," he says.
Iranian message
It is also a message reflected in reporting from the Iranian state-controlled Mehr news agency, which describes the attack as a "significant step in threatening the interests of the United States and its allies outside Southwest Asia."
Peter Haldén emphasizes that the war takes place on both the “physical playing field and the political one.”
- And there you get some kind of hit just by doing this and having it reported on and then debated.
Diego Garcia is the largest island in the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.
The archipelago belonged to Mauritius until the 1960s, when Mauritius was still a British colony. When Mauritius became independent, Britain separated the Chagos Islands and retained control over them – and then forcibly relocated their indigenous population, the Chagossians, to Mauritius.
This was followed by the US and Britain building one of their most secret military bases on Diego Garcia. There, it has been reported that the American intelligence service, the CIA, has had a secret prison for people labeled as terrorists.
In May 2025, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed an agreement that transfers sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, while the area around the base is leased to the UK for at least 99 years.
