What to know about Diego Garcia after Iran targets the remote island’s key US military base

This image released by the U.S. Navy shows an aerial view of Diego Garcia in the Chagos Island group. (U.S. Navy via AP, File) 2026-03-21T13:23:13Z LONDON (AP) — Iran has launched missiles at Diego Garcia , an Indian Ocean island that is home to a strategic U.K.-U.S. military base. Britain condemned “Iran’s reckless attacks” after the unsuccessful attempt to hit the base. It’s unclear how close the missiles came to the island, which is about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from Iran. Here is what to know about the remote but strategic base. Hub for U.S. operations The U.S. has described the Diego Garcia base as “an all but indispensable platform” for security operations in the Middle East, South Asia and East Africa. Home to about 2,500 mostly American personnel, it has supported U.S. military operations from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, the U.S. acknowledged that it also had been used for clandestine rendition flights of terror suspects. The U.S. deployed several nuclear-capable B-2 Spirit bombers to Diego Garcia last year amid an intense airstrike campaign targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Britain initially refused to let the base be used for U.S-Israeli attacks on Iran , but after Iran lashed out at its neighbors, the U.K. said that American bombers could use Diego Garcia and another British base to attack Iran’s missile sites. On Friday, the U.K. government said that includes sites being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The United Kingdom says that British bases can only be used for “specific and limited defensive operations.” But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer “is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran.” Iran previously has put a self-imposed limit on its ballistic missile program, limiting their range to 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers). Diego Garcia is well outside that range. However, U.S. officials long have alleged Iran’s spac

原文链接: AP News