Iran’s missiles are a threat to European cities – including London, Paris and Berlin – after the attack on the UK-US Diego Garcia military base on the Chagos Islands, Israel has warned.
Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper hit out at “reckless Iranian threats” after two ballistic missiles were fired towards the military base. Both were unsuccessful, with one shot down by a US warship and the other failing in flight.
However, The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was the first time Tehran had launched a long-range missile since the start of the war, and showed it was now capable of reaching cities like London, Paris or Berlin.
It claimed the missiles could go a distance of around 4,000km, meaning they posed a danger to dozens of countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. In a post on X, it said: “We have been saying it: The Iranian terrorist regime poses a global threat. Now, with missiles that can reach London, Paris or Berlin.”
The Ministry of Defence has so far declined to comment on precisely when the attack on Diego Garcia was launched, although it is understood to have come before the UK government gave the US permission to use British bases to hit Iranian missile sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz.
As a result of the agreement, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that the UK was putting British lives at risk.
Diego Garcia is around 3,800km (2,360 miles) away from Iran. The distance between Iran and the UK is around 4,435km (2,750 miles).
Before the weekend, when news of the attempted attack on Diego Garcia emerged, experts had said an Iranian attack on Britain was very unlikely, with Iran’s offensive capabilities not assessed as long-reaching enough.
However on Saturday, Gen Sir Richard Barrons, former head of the UK’s Joint Forces Command, warned that Iran could hit targets much farther away than the international community realised.
He told BBC’s Today programme: “Previously we thought Iran’s missiles had a range of 2,000km and Diego [Garcia] is 3,800km (2,360 miles) from Iran.”
Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli military intelligence officer who now works for the Tel-Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, told The Times the missiles fired on Diego Garcia could have been a warning to the UK, but cast doubt Tehran would target Europe.
He said: “It’s not that they think that tomorrow they will attack London or Paris, but I think that for them it’s another element that enables them to build the deterrence.”
The warning from the IDF was reiterated by its chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, in a video released on Saturday night. He said: “Iran launched a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 4,000km towards an American target on the island of Diego Garcia.
“The missiles were not intended to hit Israel. Their range reaches the capitals of Europe. Berlin, Paris and Rome are all within direct threat range.”
The message was issued as the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s Aerospace Force claimed that Iran would launch more missiles towards Israel overnight. Seyed Majid Mousavi wrote on X: "Tonight, the skies over the south of the occupied territories will remain illuminated for hours.”
Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump, who had said the US was considering “winding down” its military operation against Iran, hit back at critics of the offensive, claiming in a post on social media that the US “has blown Iran off of the map”.
He added: “Their leadership is gone, their navy and air force are dead, they have absolutely no defence, and they want to make a deal.”
It was followed by a post in which he threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not opened within 48 hours.
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