The United Kingdom‘s Ministry of Defense called Iran‘s strikes against its military base at Diego Garcia island “reckless,” reaffirming its stance to allow the United States to use its bases in the war.
“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,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
The statement comes in direct response to Iran’s unsuccessful Friday attack in which the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the British-owned Indian Ocean island.
IRAN LAUNCHES TWO MISSILES AT DIEGO GARCIA, EXPOSING GREATER RANGE THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT
Though Iran threatened to strike at U.K. bases on Friday after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the U.S. would be allowed to use its bases for some Operation Epic Fury strikes, the ministry told CNBC that Iran’s strikes on Diego Garcia were launched before Starmer’s announcement was made.
The spokesperson said in the Saturday statement, shared with multiple outlets, that Royal Air Force jets and other military assets will continue to defend British citizens in the Middle East.
“This government has given permission to the US to use British bases for specific and limited defensive operations,” the spokesperson continued.
The announcement from 10 Downing Street on Friday said the U.K.’s ministers convened on the war in the Middle East and agreed to allow the U.S. use of bases in the region for the defense of the Strait of Hormuz.
“They confirmed that the agreement for the US to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes US defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement from 10 Downing Street read.
The ministers called for a “urgent de-escalation and a swift resolution to the war” on Friday.
TRUMP SAYS OTHER COUNTRIES WILL HAVE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR STRAIT OF HORMUZ SECURITY
But Iran’s ballistic missile launch posed a new threat to Europe on Friday.
The over 2,000-mile missile launch toward Diego Garcia, which did not successfully hit the island, exposed the missile range Iran is truly capable of. It bucked Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s claims that Iranian missiles only have an approximate 1,200-mile range.