Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has condemned Iran's missile strike on a joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, calling it a "reckless threat." Two intermediate-range ballistic missiles were fired at the Chagos island, but neither hit their target. One was shot down by a US warship, while the other failed in flight, according to reports.
Cooper stressed that the UK has "taken a different position from the US and Israel" on the conflict, supporting only defensive action. "We want to see as swift as possible a resolution to this conflict," she said. The Ministry of Defence described the US use of British bases as "limited and defensive."
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that British lives were "in danger" after Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorised the US to carry out further strikes from UK bases. Tehran claimed it would "exercise its right to self-defence."
The strike, if successful, would have been the longest-range Iranian attack yet, with Diego Garcia located about 3,800km from Iran. The island is home to an airbase capable of accommodating long-range US bombers.
Opposition leaders criticised the government's decision. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called it the "mother of all U-turns," while the Liberal Democrats and Green Party demanded a parliamentary vote on further US use of British bases.
