Iran fires two IRBMs at Diego Garcia; Missile attack on US military base 4000 km away

TEHRAN: Iran has responded strongly to the death of Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naini, a spokesman for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran has reportedly fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) at Diego Garcia, a joint US-UK military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

This is the first time Iran has used an IRBM for attack. This is also the first time Iran has targeted areas beyond the Gulf region. The military base is 4,000 kilometers from the Iranian border. However, there are reports that the missiles did not hit the military base. US officials said that one missile failed in the air and the other was intercepted by an SM-3 from a US warship. Diego Garcia is one of the two military bases from which the US is authorized by Britain to carry out attacks against Iran. The other is Fairfort. The US military has stationed bombers and other equipment on Diego Garcia.

Iran has intensified its retaliatory measures against the US-Israeli attacks. In response to the South Pars attack, Iran attacked the world's largest LNG plant in Qatar. Meanwhile, the US is reportedly planning to seize the Kharg Island, known as Iran's economic backbone. This is to pressure Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, the world's crucial energy corridor.