![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP24353547310126.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\tAn aerial view of the island of Diego Garcia where a \u00a0a joint U.S.-U.K. military base\u00a0is located. (U.S. Navy)
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Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at a joint U.S.-U.K. military base in the Indian Ocean, marking the first operational use of a weapon system that potentially puts targets far beyond the Middle East in range, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.<\/a><\/p>\n Neither of the missiles hit the strategic Diego Garcia base \u2014 a hub for long-range U.S. bombers, warships and submarines \u2014 that is some 2,500 miles from Iran.
<\/p>\n One missile failed in flight while a U.S. warship fired an interceptor at the other, the Journal reported, citing multiple unnamed U.S. officials. It wasn\u2019t clear on what day the missiles were fired or if the second missile was struck by the interceptor or also failed in flight.
<\/p>\n Still, the incident marked Iran\u2019s first operational use of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, which suggests its missiles have a greater range than Tehran has previously acknowledged, the Journal reported.
<\/p>\n Nawaf Al-Thani, a defense analyst with the Council on International Mediation, said the long-held assumption was that Iran\u2019s missile range was capped at around 1,200 miles. Moving up to 2,500 miles amounts to a \u201cstrategic leap,\u201d he said in a post on the social media website X.
<\/p>\n \u201cThe real story is not whether the missile was intercepted. It is that Iran may have demonstrated reach far beyond what much of the world believed it possessed\u2026 Major European capitals begin to enter the conversation. Paris comes into range,\u201d Al-Thani added.
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