Iran attempted to hit the joint U.S.–U.K. base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean with two ballistic missiles. However, neither missile hit its target. One failed to reach its target due to a malfunction during flight. The cause of the other's failure is unknown, but one of the American warships fired an SM-3 anti-aircraft missile at it.
The Wall Street Journal reports this, citing several U.S. officials. The report emphasizes that this is "Iran's first operational use of intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs)" in an attempt to strike a target outside the Middle East.
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From Defense Express we would like to note that, given the attack's failure, it is still too early to describe Iran as a significant threat in terms of long‑range strike capability. However, it is worth noting that the shortest distance the missile would have had to travel from Iran to Diego Garcia is approximately 4,000 km.
Intermediate-range ballistic missiles lie between medium-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles, with ranges from 3,000 to 5,500 km.
At the same time, Iran had previously officially stated that its missile program was limited to a range of 2,000 km, which has clearly turned out to be a lie. It is also reported that the missile Iran used in its attempt to strike the Diego Garcia was a Khorramshahr missile.
The Khorramshahr‑4 ballistic missile is a kind of "budget variant" of the Oreshnik, equipped with a warhead containing 20 submunitions that disperse over an 8‑kilometer radius. Last August, Iranian media reported on the development of their own intercontinental ballistic missile, the Khorramshahr-5, with a claimed range of 12,000 km—enough to reach the United States—and a warhead weighing two tons.
Defense Express previously reported on the range of Iranian ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, and warned which European countries should be on alert. However, while Iran can now strike targets at least 4,000 km away with ballistic missiles, the only country in Europe it cannot reach is Portugal. Most of the United Kingdom, Spain, and a small part of France will also remain safe.
However, the likelihood of Iran launching ballistic missiles at Europe remains a matter of debate. At the same time, there has already been an incident in which a Shahed drone—though not launched from Iran—struck a hangar housing U-2 reconnaissance aircraft in Cyprus.
Iran has also previously threatened Europe with retaliatory strikes if it supports the United States and Israel in efforts to destroy Iran's military capabilities.
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