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  "path": "/news/world/chagos-islands-iran-launches-ballistic-missiles-diego-garcia-uk-us-base-keir-starmer-donald-trump",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-21T00:41:08.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Benjamin Netanyahu suggests need for ground invasion to topple regime as Iran war escalates",
    "Crack British military team rushes to US to help Donald Trump reopen vital Strait of Hormuz",
    "Donald Trump blasts Israel for 'lashing out' with Iran oilfield attack - then threatens to do it himself",
    "only allowed the bases to be used to hit missile sites which could imperil ships in the Strait of Hormuz",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nIran launched two ballistic missiles towards the Chagos Islands on Friday - just hours after Sir Keir Starmer gave the US permission to use the joint UK-US base to target a new set of Tehran's missile sites.\n\nUS officials told the Wall Street Journal that two missiles were fired towards Diego Garcia - the first known attack of its kind.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nNeither of the missiles hit the base, but the launch represents the longest-range attack by Iran since the start of \"Operation Epic Fury\".\n\nOne of the missiles is said to have failed mid-flight, while an American destroyer fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\nBut the WSJ reported it could not be determined if an interception was made.\n\nUnverified social media reports from shortly before 9pm GMT claimed radar systems around the Persian Gulf had picked up the launch.\n\nThey did not specify how much of the 4,000-kilometre journey between southern Iran and Diego Garcia the missiles covered.\n\nBut of Iran's arsenal, only its Khorramshahr rockets can fly up to 2,000km, Tehran claims.\n\nFormer US Centcom spokesman Colonel Joe Buccino told GB News the launch was a \"strategic move\".\n\n\"Iran wants to incur as much damage as possible, involve as many countries as possible, and inflict as much damage on the West, Israel and the Gulf states as possible,\" Col Buccino said.\n\n\"They want an American amphibious assault.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"This regime survives by not failing - they win by not losing, as Ho Chi Minh said.\"\n\nHe added that at present, \"we don't know\" how many long-range missiles capable of targeting Diego Garcia Iran has, but it was \"worth noting\" that the US used one of its finite supply of SM-3 interceptors to bring it down.\n\nAccording to a report by Israel's Alma Research and Education Centre, Iran's arsenal mainly consists of short-range ballistic missiles, which reach up to 1,000 kilometres.\n\nIts medium-range ballistic missiles can reach as far as 3,000 kilometers.\n\nBut the centre says that \"according to various reports, long-range ballistic missiles are currently in advanced stages of development\".\n\nHours before the launches, Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister, accused Sir Keir Starmer of putting British lives at risk by allowing the US to British bases to launch attacks in the Middle East.\n\n### IRAN - READ THE LATEST:\n\n\n\n\n  * Benjamin Netanyahu suggests need for ground invasion to topple regime as Iran war escalates\n  * Crack British military team rushes to US to help Donald Trump reopen vital Strait of Hormuz\n  * Donald Trump blasts Israel for 'lashing out' with Iran oilfield attack - then threatens to do it himself\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nSir Keir specifically only allowed the bases to be used to hit missile sites which could imperil ships in the Strait of Hormuz.\n\nMr Araghchi then said the \"vast majority\" of Britons did not want any UK involvement in the war.\n\n\"Ignoring his own people, Mr Starmer is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran,\" he raged.\n\n\"Iran will exercise its right to self-defence,\" he said.\n\nDonald Trump on Friday afternoon said Sir Keir \"should have acted a lot faster\" in green-lighting the use of Diego Garcia.\n\n\"It's been a very late response from the UK,\" the President said.\n\n\"I'm surprised because the relationship is so good, but this has never happened before. They were really, pretty much our first ally, all over the world.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nLater that day, Mr Trump took to social media to reveal that the US was considering winding down its war.\n\nHe said American forces were getting \"very close\" to meeting their five key objectives.\n\nThe five, he said, were:\n\n  * \"Completely degrading Iranian missile capability, launchers, and everything else pertaining to them\";\n  * \"Destroying Iran’s defence industrial base\";\n  * \"Eliminating their navy and air force, including anti-aircraft weaponry\";\n  * \"Never allowing Iran to get even close to nuclear capability, and always being in a position where the USA can quickly and powerfully react to such a situation, should it take place\";\n  * \"Protecting, at the highest level, our Middle Eastern allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others\".\n\nGB News has approached the Ministry of Defence for comment.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Iran launches ballistic missiles at Chagos Islands after Keir Starmer lets US use base for new strikes"
}