Iran has launched two ballistic missiles at the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, in what the Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned as 'reckless threats'. The missiles, fired after Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorised the US to use British bases for strikes on Iranian targets, did not hit the base. One was shot down by a US warship, the other failed in flight, according to reports.
Cooper said the government wanted a swift resolution to the conflict and had taken a different position from the US and Israel. 'We have continued to support defensive action to support UK interests, including defensive action against ballistic missile threats,' she told broadcasters. The Ministry of Defence described the US use of British bases as 'limited and defensive' and called Iran's attacks 'reckless'.
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned that British lives were 'in danger' after Starmer's decision, posting on X that Iran would 'exercise its right to self-defence'. The US president, Donald Trump, said the UK 'should have acted a lot faster' in granting permission. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the move the 'mother of all U-turns' and said the UK was being 'dragged into' the conflict.
Diego Garcia, part of the Chagos Islands, is about 3,800km from Iran and houses a US bomber-capable airbase. The UK government had previously only allowed US 'defensive' operations from its bases, but on Friday authorised strikes on Iranian missile sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz. The Liberal Democrats and Green Party called for a parliamentary vote on any further permissions.
