Al Jazeera reports Iran denies targeting US-UK base in the Indian Ocean

(SeaPRwire) –   The UK has accused Tehran of launching ballistic missiles toward Diego Garcia island

According to Al Jazeera, citing a senior Iranian official, Iran has refuted claims that it aimed at a joint US-UK military facility in the Indian Ocean.

The base, situated on the isolated Diego Garcia island within the Chagos Archipelago, was allegedly struck at by two ballistic missiles early Friday local time.

Neither missile impacted the installation, which houses approximately 2,500 personnel, predominantly American. The US government has characterized the base as “an all but indispensable platform” for missions throughout the Middle East, South Asia, and East Africa.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper denounced the event as “reckless Iranian threats,” stating that Britain would not engage in offensive actions and would confine its involvement to defensive support.

Iran has previously executed retaliatory attacks on several US bases in the Middle East and directed drones at the UK’s Akrotiri air base in southern Cyprus, said to have inflicted minor damage.

On Friday, Downing Street indicated that ministers had authorized the US to utilize UK bases for strikes against Iran. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, nonetheless, has rejected US President Donald Trump’s request to deploy warships to the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump remarked that Britain “should have acted a lot faster,” whereas Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi charged Starmer with “putting British lives in danger.”