Iran's missile range exaggerated and UK is safe, says minister
Israel’s warnings about Iran developing long-range missiles capable of reaching Europe are exaggerated, and the UK is safe, a senior minister has suggested.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said the British military is ‘perfectly capable’ of protecting the country, but repeatedly refused to reveal how close Tehran’s missiles came to reaching the joint US-UK base Diego Garcia.
Reed said there are systems and defences in place to protect the country and insisted there is ‘no specific assessment that the Iranians are targeting the UK or even could, if they wanted to.’
‘We have the finest military in the world. We are perfectly capable of protecting this country,’ he told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.
So far, the government has not said exactly when the two intermediate-range ballistic missiles were fired at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands or how close they came to hitting their target.
On Saturday, The Israeli Defence Forces said it was the first time Tehran had launched a long-range missile since the start of the war, and warned it is now capable of reaching cities like London, Paris or Berlin.
‘We have been saying it: The Iranian terrorist regime poses a global threat,’ the IDF said in a statement.
Diego Garcia is about 2,360 miles away from Iran and home to a base capable of accommodating long-range US bombers and navy ships.
The Israeli military claimed the missiles could reach a distance of about 4,000 kilometres, posing a danger to dozens of countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.
One of the missiles was shot down by a US warship while the other failed in flight, it was reported, which Mr Reed argued was proof that the region’s defensive capabilities are working.
Elsewhere, the Housing Secretary would not be drawn on whether the government backs US President Donald Trump’s 48-hour deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Early on Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Iran had 48 hours to ‘FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz’, or the US would ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants.
Reed was repeatedly asked about his position by Sky News’s Trevor Phillips, but only said the UK will not be drawn into a wider conflict.
‘I think you need to ask President Trump about the things that President Trump is talking about,’ the Housing Secretary said.
Iran has escalated attacks on its Gulf neighbours in recent days while keeping a stranglehold on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Ministers have said the UK will not be dragged into the wider conflict.
By George Lithgow, Press Association Political and Home Affairs Correspondent
source: PA
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