Trump proven right on Iran's long-range missile capability as regime targets US-UK base, experts say

The Islamic Republic of Iran importantly escalated its warfare effort against the U.S. with its motorboat of 2 intermediate-range ballistic missiles connected Friday toward Diego Garcia, a cardinal U.S.-U.K. subject basal successful the Indian Ocean.

The targeting of Diego Garcia, astir 2,500 miles from Iran, means Tehran’s rocket capabilities look to person exceeded antecedently acknowledged limits.

In the play starring up to Operation Epic Fury connected Feb. 28, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed that "We intentionally kept the scope of our missiles beneath 2,000 km truthful we don’t person that capability. And we don’t privation to bash that due to the fact that we bash not person hostility against the United States radical and each Europeans."

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Map from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies showing Iran's rocket ranges. (The Foundation for Defense of Democracies)

On Saturday, Israel Defense Forces IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said "Just yesterday, Iran launched a two-stage intercontinental ballistic rocket with a scope of 4,000 kilometers [2,500 miles] toward an American people connected the land of Diego Garcia. These missiles were not intended to deed Israel. Their scope reaches the capitals of Europe — Berlin, Paris and Rome are each wrong nonstop menace range."

IDF spokesperson Nadav Shoshani blasted the alleged Iranian deception connected X: "Just 3 days earlier the war, the Iranian authorities said they don’t get long-range missiles. Today, their lies were exposed erstwhile again, erstwhile missiles were fired 4000km distant from Iran. They hoped to prevarication their mode into becoming a unit that tin terrorize the world. We didn’t bargain it."

Jason Brodsky, the argumentation manager of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital, "The Trump administration, successful citing Iran's rocket menace arsenic a rationale for Operation Epic Fury, was truthful justified successful its determination to undertake subject enactment arsenic Iran has consistently refused to negociate implicit its rocket program. It besides shows however unsafe it is to solely trust connected Iranian atomic weapons fatwas and the ultimate leader’s nationalist rhetoric successful formulating U.S. policy. As agelong arsenic Iran retains the method capableness beyond nationalist pronouncements, it is simply a threat."

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A large banner depicting Iran's erstwhile Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is placed adjacent to a ballistic rocket successful Baharestan Square successful Tehran, Iran, connected September 26, 2024, connected the sideline of an accumulation which marks the 44th day of the commencement of Iran-Iraq war.  (Photo by Hossein Beris /Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

According to Brodsky, "I deliberation it's a connection that the IRGC is successful complaint successful Iran aft Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's death. When Khamenei was alive, helium constricted the scope of Iran's rocket programme to 2000 km. Khamenei recounted successful 2018 however helium had rejected overtures from IRGC commanders seeking to summation the scope to arsenic overmuch arsenic 5000 km."

He continued, "But present that helium has died, those voices successful the IRGC seeking to summation the scope are apt driving the agenda. The motorboat of the missiles was apt meant arsenic a awesome of the IRGC's capabilities to endanger U.S. allies beyond the Middle East. For example, this threatens Europe."

The 2 long-range Iranian missiles did not deed the base, but the attempted onslaught marked a important enlargement of Iran’s scope beyond the Middle East and toward a large U.S. strategical hub. One rocket reportedly failed successful flight, portion a U.S. warship launched an SM-3 interceptor astatine the other, officials said. It was not instantly wide whether the interception was successful. The distant basal is simply a captious motorboat constituent for U.S. bombers, atomic submarines and different strategical assets.

Ilan Berman, Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council successful Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital, "The motorboat hammers location the president’s constituent astir Iran being an imminent threat. It’s casual for casual observers to ignore, but the expanding maturity of Iran’s strategical programs, plural, has been exponentially expanding the menace that the Islamic Republic poses beyond the Middle East. That is what "Epic Fury" is seeking to address. The medication believes, perfectly correctly successful my view, that these types of capabilities cannot beryllium near successful the hands of a radical, predatory regime."

HEZBOLLAH, IRAN UNLEASH COORDINATED CLUSTER BOMB STRIKES ON ISRAEL IN MAJOR ESCALATION

Israeli aerial defence systems are activated to intercept Iranian missiles implicit the Israeli metropolis of Tel Aviv amid a caller barrage of Iranian rockets connected June 16, 2025. (Menahem Kahanna/AFP via Getty Images)

He continued that "Despite its nationalist denials, it’s been wide that the Iranian authorities has been moving connected expanding the scope of its ballistic rocket capabilities for years. The motorboat toward Diego Garcia confirms that it has made existent advancement toward that goal, and is already capable to enactment targets successful the aforesaid scope arsenic Central and Eastern Europe astatine risk. Moreover, it’s wide that the authorities is seeking inactive greater capabilities – and that, if near intact, Iran’s ballistic missiles would attain intercontinental scope soon."

Berman, the writer of "Iran’s Deadly Ambition: The Islamic Republic’s Quest for Global Power," added, "The parallel improvement Iran has been carrying retired connected its abstraction programme is significant. The booster utilized to enactment payloads into orbit tin beryllium joined onto a medium-range rocket to make intercontinental scope capabilities. Before the war, we were seeing a wide convergence of the regime’s strategical programs: its ballistic rocket work, its abstraction capabilities and its atomic program."

A U.S. B-2 Spirit bomber, portion of the 509th Bomb Wing astatine Whiteman Air Force Base successful Missouri, stops for refueling astatine the U.S. subject basal connected Diego Garcia successful October 2001, pursuing an airstrike ngo implicit Afghanistan successful enactment of Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Department of Defense/Senior Airman Rebeca M. Luquin)

He warned astir the superior Iranian menace to continental Europe. "Europe is perfectly astatine risk, arsenic the caller motorboat makes clear. I wouldn’t accidental that a nonaccomplishment to admit this to day has been owed to a expansive deception by Tehran, though. It is much attributable to willful blindness connected the portion of European elites astir the grade of the menace that the Iranian authorities poses, arsenic good arsenic undue religion successful diplomacy and arms power successful containing it," helium said.

On Saturday, the United Kingdom condemned the attack. "Iran’s reckless attacks, lashing retired crossed the portion and holding hostage the Strait of Hormuz, are a menace to British interests and British allies," the U.K. Ministry of Defense said successful a statement. "RAF jets and different U.K. subject assets are continuing to support our radical and unit successful the region."

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"This authorities has fixed support to the U.S. to usage British bases for circumstantial and constricted antiaircraft operations," it added.

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.