Britain would be forced to rely on American missile defence systems stationed in Europe if Iran launched a rocket attack on the UK similar to the one attempted on Diego Garcia this weekend.
The warning came after Tehran fired two ballistic missiles on Friday night towards the base in the Indian Ocean, which is jointly operated by the US and the UK.
The island lies 2,360 miles from Iran, well beyond the 1,240 miles which was thought to be the outer limit of the regime’s reach.
It potentially puts Paris, 2,609 miles away, and even London – 2,750 miles – within Iran’s range if, as some strategists fear, the country uses its Simorgh space launch technology to extend its missile range. RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus is just 1,000 miles from Tehran.
And Israel warned last night that that Iran’s new missile can hit Europe.
IDF chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, in a video released on Saturday night. said: ‘Iran launched a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 4,000km towards an American target on the island of Diego Garcia.
‘The missiles were not intended to hit Israel. Their range reaches the capitals of Europe. Berlin, Paris and Rome are all within direct threat range.’ The IDF later added that London is also in range.
Steve Prest, a retired Royal Navy commodore, said: ‘Ballistic missiles are space rockets. They launch, they go really high up and they come down really fast. If you’ve got a space programme, you’ve got a ballistic missile programme.’
In a ballistic attack, defence experts say Britain would be forced to rely on American SM-3 defence systems stationed across Eastern Europe, or the Patriot missiles used by the Germans, to intercept rockets.
The attempted strike on Diego Garcia came as Sir Keir Starmer extended permission for the US to use British bases to launch attacks on the Strait of Hormuz to protect shipping from Iranian assaults.
Neither of the missiles fired at Diego Garcia hit their target, with one believed to have been shot down by a US warship’s SM-3 interceptor and the other failing in flight.
An aerial view of Diego Garcia, which faced an attempted rocket attack this weekend
A Khorramshahr-4 missile is launched at an undisclosed location in Iran
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir of covering up the attempted attack on Diego Garcia, saying the Prime Minister needed to ‘come clean’ over the details of the launch.
Government sources confirmed the attack happened before an official statement later said it had allowed the US military to launch strikes on Iran from the island base to help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This came as:
- The US used ‘bunker buster’ bombs in a reported attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility. The munition was designed to be dropped from B-2 stealth bombers to destroy targets up to 200ft underground;
- The American military claimed that Tehran’s ability to threaten ships passing through the Straits of Hormuz had been ‘degraded’;
- The UAE released a joint statement from 22 countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Bahrain and Australia, demanding that Tehran reopen the Straits of Hormuz to shipping;
- Prices of vegetables in supermarkets could rise within weeks as the war in Iran makes the cost of fertiliser and energy soar;
- Holidaymakers were scrambling to book flights and switch destinations to avoid the threat of spiralling fares and disruption caused by the war;
- Motorists could face a 1970s-style 50mph speed limit in an attempt to save fuel under emergency plans;
- Sir Keir promised Cyprus that the British airbase on the island will not be used by the Americans to strike Iran.
The Prime Minister spoke to Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and made a commitment that RAF Akrotiri would not be involved in his agreement with Mr Trump on the use of British bases in the war.
This comes after Mr Christodoulides warned last week that when the war finishes, he will demand negotiations about the future of Britain’s ‘colonial’ military bases on the island.
General Sir Richard Barrons, a former Commander in Chief of British forces, said on Saturday that Iran’s power may have been ‘serially underestimated’.
General Sir Richard, who headed the UK’s Joint Forces Command between 2013 and 2016, said it was previously thought that ‘Iran’s missiles had a range of only 2,000 kilometres [1,240 miles] and Diego Garcia is 3,800 kilometres [2,360 miles] away from Iran’.
He was responding to questions over whether Mr Trump was right to say Britain had done ‘too little and too late’ or whether opponents of the war were correct that the UK had been sucked into an American war.
Meanwhile, vegetable prices could rise within weeks as the cost of fertiliser and energy surges, said National Farmers Union president Tom Bradshaw.
He said Britain no longer had the ability to make fertiliser domestically and was ‘absolutely at the mercy of world markets’.
The Middle East is a key supplier of ingredients used to make fertiliser. Most of these pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked by Iran, causing prices to spiral as farmers scramble to buy limited supplies as spring planting season looming.
Prices of imported goods are likely to rise immediately because of higher transport costs, said Mr Bradshaw, adding that increases for other foods would begin to appear in coming weeks.
He added: ‘For vegetables grown in heated greenhouses, such as cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes, it will be over the next month to six weeks that we will see those cost increases coming through to the retailer.’
Stampede for flights before prices soar
By Calum Mairhead
Holidaymakers are scrambling to book flights and switch destinations to avoid spiralling fares and disruption caused by the war.
Travel agents report ‘strong interest’ in European and Caribbean destinations after the reputation of Dubai and other Gulf cities as safe, sun-drenched getaways was shattered by Iranian missiles and drones.
Industry experts say the ‘huge surge in demand’ is being fuelled by people who would normally wait for last-minute deals but are now rushing to lock in bookings ahead of further price rises.
Graeme Buck, of travel industry body ABTA, said: ‘The Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to many countries in the area due to the conflict.
‘So in the short term, people need to review what this means for their holiday plans.’
Consumer travel expert Martyn James added: ‘Those trips to Malaga are going to be an awful lot busier than usual.
‘With the chances of fares going up the longer the situation in the Middle East goes on, fewer people will want to take the risk of booking last-minute trips so they will be looking to lock in now to avoid a nasty shock later on.’
Signs of a bookings stampede emerged last week when some of the biggest US carriers including Delta and American Airlines upgraded their sales forecasts for March.
Easyjet boss Kenton Jarvis has advised travellers to book their flights now to avoid higher fares, saying that while the airline was currently protected from higher fuel costs this would not last beyond the summer, so price rises were more likely.
Holidaymakers are scrambling to book flights and switch destinations to avoid spiralling fares and disruption caused by the war (file photo)
Motorists face speed limits to save fuel
By Calum Mairhead
Motorists could be facing a 1970s-style 50mph speed limit in a bid to save fuel, under emergency plans being drawn up as the war causes a global oil supply crunch.
Speed limits are among options reportedly being considered.
Others are thought to include:
- A cap on how much fuel drivers are allowed to buy at the pumps;
- Designating petrol stations for use only by emergency services;
- Limiting their open hours and closing them overnight;
- Restricting sales of diesel to commercial vehicles involved in key areas such as food production and medical supply chains.
While fuel stocks are not yet low enough for drastic measures, the Government could be forced to use emergency powers under the Energy Act, which allows officials to control the supply of fuel if there is a risk of shortages.
Emergency measures were last used in 2000, when a blockade of fuel depots by hauliers sparked nationwide shortages of petrol.
Speed limits to save fuel have not been in place since 1973, when traffic on all roads was restricted to 50mph after the UK and other nations were cut off from Middle Eastern oil exports during the Yom Kippur war between Israel and a coalition of Arab states.
The UK currently has less than 900,000 tons of petrol in storage –enough to meet normal levels of demand for 26 days.
The crisis has piled pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to provide support for motorists, including by scrapping a planned 5p rise in fuel duty in September.
