War Expands To New Theatre? Iran Fires Missiles At Indian Ocean US-UK Base

Tehran/Washington, March 21: The war between Iran and the US has moved decisively into the Indian Ocean in two separate and significant strikes. Together, it marks an expansion of the war’s geographic theatre.

Iran fired two ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK military base at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing US officials.

Neither missile struck the target. One failed mid-flight; a second was engaged by an interceptor launched from a US warship, though whether it was hit remains unclear.

The base sits roughly 4,000 km from Iranian territory, a range that would represent a substantial leap beyond what Tehran was previously believed capable of. It means Iran will be able to target bases in Europe.

The Pentagon has not said anything on it yet.

“If reports are correct that Iran attempted to hit the Island of Diego Garcia deep in the Central Indian Ocean, then Iran has just widened the war and sent a very clear message towards the West while striking South,” former Union Minister Manish Tewari said in a post on X.

Weeks earlier, in the first Indian Ocean engagement of the war, a US submarine sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena with a torpedo south of Sri Lanka, killing over 85. The warship was a frigate heading home after participating in MILAN 2026, a multilateral naval exercise hosted by India.