Housing secretary Steve Reed has insisted the United Kingdom remains safe from Iranian missile threats, despite warnings from Israel that Tehran possesses long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching European cities, including London. Speaking on Sky News, Reed stated: 'We have systems and defences in place that keep the United Kingdom safe, and that will continue to happen.'
Reed's comments came after Israel issued a stark warning on Saturday that Iranian missiles pose a threat to European capitals, following two ballistic missiles fired by Iran towards the UK-US Diego Garcia military base on the Chagos Islands. One missile was intercepted, and the other failed. Reed refused to specify how close the missiles came to the base, but said the outcome 'shows that our defensive capabilities are correct.'
However, some experts and former officials have accused Israel of exaggerating the threat to build support for its war on Iran. Lord McDonald, former top civil servant at the Foreign Office, said: 'Frankly, there's no evidence that they have missiles of this capability apart from an Israeli source. And the Israeli agenda is to get Europe more concerned, more involved, more supportive of what they're doing.' He conceded that the UK could be vulnerable to such a strike due to a lack of comprehensive missile defence.
Former foreign secretary James Cleverly also urged caution, saying it was not useful to 'start setting hares running' about Iran's missile capabilities, adding that the Iranian regime is 'very, very good at disinformation.'
The tensions come amid escalating regional conflict, with Iran threatening to destroy energy targets across the Middle East after US President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke with Trump on Sunday, describing the call as 'constructive,' and will chair an emergency Cobra meeting on Monday to address potential impacts on UK households.
