Mohammad Sio
23 March 2026•Update: 23 March 2026
ISTANBUL
Iran on Monday denied allegations that it targeted a US-UK military base on Diego Garcia with missiles, dismissing the claim as an “Israeli false flag.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement on the US social media company X that recent accusations lacked credibility and reflected a pattern of “disinformation.”
“That even the NATO Secretary General (Mark Rutte) declines to endorse Israel's most recent disinformation, speaks volumes: the world has grown thoroughly exhausted with these tired and discredited ‘false flag’ storylines,” he wrote.
The denial came after Rutte said the alliance “cannot confirm” Israel’s claim that missiles targeting Diego Garcia were Iranian intercontinental ballistic missiles.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that two intermediate-range ballistic missiles had been fired toward the base, with neither striking it.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Anadolu's request for comment.
Diego Garcia is one of two bases the UK has authorized the US to use as part of its ongoing military campaign against Iran.
The reported incident had drawn attention because Diego Garcia lies 4,000 kilometers (2.485 miles) from Iran, double the 2,000-kilometer limit Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed Tehran had deliberately imposed on its missiles.
The island, the largest in the Chagos Archipelago in the central Indian Ocean, has hosted a joint US-UK military presence since the 1970s and serves as a base for long-range bombers and other strategic assets.
Regional escalation has continued to flare since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing so far over 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.
