Iranian forces fired missiles at a strategically important U.S.-British military base on Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean but missed their target, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Citing several U.S. officials, WSL reported at dawn on March 21 that Iran fired two medium-range ballistic missiles at the base, about four thousand kilometres from Tehran.
Neither hit the base – one malfunctioned in flight and the other was shot down by a U.S. warship using an SM-3 interceptor missile, officials said.
If confirmed, it would mean Iranian missiles have a longer range than previously thought.
The remote island is located in British territory in the Indian Ocean and is a strategic base where the United States deploys bombers and nuclear submarines, among other assets.
On 20 March, Britain gave U.S. forces the green light to use its bases to strike Iranian missile sites that attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical corridor for Persian Gulf oil shipments to world markets. Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz amid US-Israeli strikes, driving up oil prices.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially rejected a US request to use British bases to strike Iran, saying he needed to make sure any military action was legal. After Iran attacked British allies across the Middle East, Starmer said the US could use an airbase in England and Diego Garcia.
U.S. troops based on sovereign British territory need Britain’s consent for certain missions as part of bilateral agreements.
U.S. and British officials have not yet commented on the WSJ report.