Iran's Diego Garcia strike triggers fresh European missile range fears
The recent Iranian attack on the US naval base at Diego Garcia has reignited alarm bells across Europe, with intelligence suggesting that ballistic missiles from Tehran could now reach military installations throughout Britain and other nations in southeastern regions like Greece or Italy while remaining within range of NATO forces stationed there despite earlier assessments indicating greater distance.
Key Points
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1Iran launched two ballistic missiles at the US-UK base on Diego Garcia, with one failing and another intercepted by UK forces.
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2Experts warn that Iran's new longer-range systems could potentially reach London, Paris, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Austria, Germany, and other parts of Europe within 4023km range. This capability was not entirely unexpected but remains a significant development for European defense planning.
Developments
On March 21, Iran launched two long-range (3,800 km) missiles at Diego Garcia; one failed while another was intercepted before impact without causing damage. Analysts suggest this capability represents an evolution of existing Iranian missile technology rather than a sudden breakthrough and may involve either modified single-stage systems or dual-phase boosters developed under the guise of space launches.
An attempted attack on Diego Garcia by Iran suggests Tehran possesses ballistic missiles with a range capable of reaching major cities in continental Europe like Paris or Berlin. While one intercepted target fell short and another was shot down at over 2,500 miles from the launch site, officials now fear these weapons could strike London as well due to their demonstrated capability against distant targets previously thought unreachable for Iran's arsenal.
Iran launched two missiles on Friday toward Diego Garcia; one failed to reach its target while traveling approximately 3,000 km from launch base in Tehran's vicinity (as per Iranian claims), and was intercepted by UK forces near British airspace. Although Iran previously claimed a maximum range of only about 2,000–4,576 miles for all missiles it has developed over the years according to its own statements as well