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Iran Diego Garcia attack: US-UK military base distance, missile range in focus; ‘far beyond what we’ve seen before…'
Iran launched an attack on the Diego Garcia, US-UK joint military base in the Indian Ocean, but did not hit it, as per a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Iran launched an attack on the Diego Garcia, US-UK joint military base in the Indian Ocean, but did not hit it, as per a report from The Wall Street Journal.
As per WSJ's Friday report, one of the missiles failed in flight when a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other, though it was not determined if the interceptor had succeeded. The report did not specify when Iran fired the missiles.
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However, it is the distance of the Diego Garcia base from Iran that has sparked discussions about the striking capabilities of Iranian missiles.
“4,118 km from Iran to Diego Garcia. Far beyond any previously known Iranian ballistic missile range,” one page noted on X.
Steve Lookner, of AgendaFreeTV also noted “Iran’s targeting of Diego Garcia, about 4,000 kilometers from Iran, implies its missiles have a greater range than Tehran has previously acknowledged.”
Iran-Diego Garcia base distance
A straight line distance between Diego Garcia base and Iran is 3,795 to 3,800 kilometers (around 2,358 to 2,400 miles). It is considered a key base for the US and can serve as a ‘stepping stone’ for bomber missions in the Middle East.
The base was previously believed to have been outside the range of Iranian missiles.
What range do Iranian missiles have?
Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal is believed to have about 3,000 missiles as per Alma Research and Education Center, which is focused on researching the security challenges on Israel's northern borders. This is from a June 2025 estimate.
The center noted, citing IDF that by February 2026, this had grown to about 2,500 missiles after the conflict in between with Israel, which saw many of their missiles destroyed. According to their report their mid-range missiles can travel between 1,000 and 3,000 km.
The Khorramshahr has the longest range between 2,000–3,000 km. Next is Emad with a 1800 km range and Ghadr which can have a 1,600–2,000 km range.
Shahab‑3 has a 1300 km range and Rezvan has a 1400 km range as per the Alma report.
Reports noted that Iran's attack came hours after the UK announced it would allow the US to use the base to launch strikes on Iran. This comes amid the ongoing war where the US and Israel carried out joint strikes on Tehran that claimed the life of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
