Iran unsuccessfully targeted a joint U.S.-U.K. military base in the Indian Ocean, the U.K. said Saturday.
“Iran’s unsuccessful targeting of Diego Garcia was before yesterday’s update on the use of U.K. bases by the U.S.,” the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) told CNBC in an emailed statement.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said Friday that ministers had approved U.S. forces’ use of British bases to defend the region, including “U.S. defensive operations to degrade missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.”
The MoD said the U.K. has given the U.S. permission to use its bases at RAF Fairford in England and at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands for “specific and limited defensive operations.”
Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia but did not hit the U.S.-U.K. military base in the Indian Ocean, The Wall Street Journal first reported on Friday, citing multiple U.S. officials.
One of the missiles failed in flight, while a U.S. warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other, although it could not be determined if the interception succeeded, the newspaper said.
“Iran’s reckless attacks, lashing out across the region and holding hostage the Strait of Hormuz, are a threat to British interests and British allies,” the U.K. said in its statement. ”[Royal Air Force] jets and other U.K. military assets are continuing to defend our people and personnel in the region.”
The reported attack marked Iran’s first operational use of intermediate-range ballistic missiles and a significant attempt to reach far beyond the Middle East and threaten U.S. interests, the Wall Street Journal said.
The U.K. agreed in May 2025 to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, where the Diego Garcia base is located, to Mauritius, which has long disputed the U.K.’s acquisition and ownership of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the U.K.’s plan.
