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British Cabinet Minister Steve Reed said connected Sunday (March 22, 2026) that determination was nary appraisal that backed claims Iran is readying to onslaught Europe with ballistic missiles, oregon that it even has the capableness to bash so.
On Saturday (March 21, 2026), the Israel Defence Forces posted connected social media that Iran has missiles “that can scope London, Paris oregon Berlin”.
“There is nary appraisal to substantiate what’s being said,” British Housing Secretary Reed told the BBC.
Iran-Israel LIVE: Follow LIVE updates connected March 22, 2026
“I’m not alert of immoderate appraisal astatine each that they are adjacent trying to people Europe, fto unsocial that they could if they tried.”
In a abstracted interrogation with Sky News, Mr. Reed said that U.S. President Trump spoke for himself erstwhile helium threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s powerfulness plants if Tehran did not afloat reopen the Strait of Hormuz wrong 48 hours.
Asked to specify Britain’s presumption connected Mr. Trump’s deadline, Mr. Reed said: “The U.S. president is perfectly susceptible of speaking for himself and defending what it is that he’s saying.”
“We’re not going to beryllium dragged into the war, but we volition support our ain interests successful the region. We volition enactment with our allies to de-escalate the situation.”
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Iran missiles targeting Diego Garcia basal fell short, intercepted: Reed
Mr. Reed connected Sunday (March 22, 2026) said 1 rocket launched by Iran targeting a associated U.K.-U.S. subject basal successful the Indian Ocean “fell short” portion different rocket was “intercepted”.
“Our appraisal is that the Iranians surely targeted Diego Garcia,” a subject basal immoderate 4,000 km (2,500 miles) distant from Iran, Mr. Reed told the BBC.
“As we recognize it, 1 rocket fell short, failed, the different was intercepted and prevented,” said the lodging minister, who was representing the authorities connected the Sunday greeting shows.
“But I don’t deliberation it’s a astonishment this has happened, Iran has been recklessly firing missiles astir the region,” helium added.
Diego Garcia, portion of the Chagos Islands archipelago, is 1 of 2 bases which the U.K. has allowed the United States to usage for what the British authorities insists are “defencive operations” successful its warfare against Iran.
The Wall Street Journal archetypal reported connected Friday (March 20, 2026) that Iran had aimed 2 ballistic missiles astatine the base, which is simply a cardinal hub for Washington’s Asia operations, including the U.S. bombing campaigns successful Afghanistan and Iraq.
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While neither deed their target, the motorboat suggests that Tehran has missiles with longer ranges than antecedently thought.
American forces person stationed bombers and different instrumentality astatine Diego Garcia.
On Friday (March 20, 2026), the U.K. authorities said it would let Washington to usage its bases successful Diego Garcia and Fairford successful southwest England to people Iranian “missile sites and capabilities being utilized to onslaught ships successful the Strait of Hormuz”.
A U.K. authoritative root confirmed that Iran’s “unsuccessful targeting of Diego Garcia” took spot earlier Friday’s (March 20, 2026) announcement.
Mr. Reed insisted that the “U.K. volition not beryllium dragged into this conflict”, adding that determination was “no circumstantial appraisal that the Iranians are targeting the U.K. oregon adjacent could, if they wanted to”.
He besides highlighted the contrasting positions taken by the U.K. and the United States connected the war, with British person Keir Starmer attracting Mr. Trump’s ire successful caller weeks.
“It is not the archetypal clip successful past that the United Kingdom and a British premier curate has taken a antithetic presumption from the U.S. President. It happened successful Vietnam,” said Mr. Reed.
