Washington, March 27 (IANS) Iran’s suspected attempt to target a military base in the Indian Ocean has raised alarm in Washington. US officials warned that Tehran’s missile programme is expanding its reach into waters close to India.Lawmakers pointed to a reported launch toward Diego Garcia. The base is a key US-UK military facility in the Indian Ocean. They said the incident shows Iran can project power far beyond its region.General Stephen Whiting, head of US Space Command, said Iran’s m…
Latest Diego Garcia News & Updates
London, March 23 (IANS) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there was no indication that mainland Britain was being targetted by Iran, while stressing the need to protect British interests and avoid further escalation in the Middle East. “We carry out assessments all the time in order to keep us safe, and there’s no assessment that we’re being targetted in that way,” Starmer told reporters on Monday while visiting a school in southeast London, according to The Guardian.He made the remarks w…
Washington, March 23 (IANS) NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte backed US actions against Iran, warning that Tehran is “very close” to developing missile capabilities that could threaten Europe, even as NATO assessed reports of a long-range strike on a US-UK base in the Indian Ocean.Speaking on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Rutte said NATO could not yet confirm claims that Iran had fired missiles at Diego Garcia, but stressed the implications if verified.“We cannot confirm that at the m…
Washington, March 23 (IANS) The United States is pursuing a dual-track approach on the Strait of Hormuz, combining allied burden-sharing with the threat of direct military action, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said.Speaking on CBS News’ “Face the Nation”, Waltz said, “Well, I think it can be both. It’s not necessarily mutually exclusive,” when asked whether Washington intended to reopen the strategic waterway by force or rely on partners.He pointed to growing allied in…
Moscow, March 22 (IANS) A nuclear-powered Royal Navy submarine has arrived in the Arabian Sea, capable of launching cruise missile attacks on Iran, British media reported, quoting military sources.The submarine, HMS Anson, is fitted with Tomahawk Block IV land-attack missiles and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes, and is believed to be in the deep waters of the northern Arabian Sea, the Daily Mail said on Saturday (local time).This means that British forces have the capacity to launch attacks on I…
London, March 21 (IANS) The United Kingdom has agreed to allow the United States to use British bases to carry out “operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” according to a Downing Street statement.Britain is working with international partners to develop “a viable plan to safeguard international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” said the statement released on Friday (local time).Despite the move, the statement stressed that th…
Tehran, March 21 (IANS) Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has issued a sharp warning to the United Kingdom on Saturday, stating that Tehran will respond if British involvement in the ongoing conflict escalates. In a post on X, Araghchi wrote, “Vast majority of the British People do not want any part in the Israel-U.S. war of choice on Iran. Ignoring his own People, Mr. Starmer is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran. Iran will…
Washington, March 14 (IANS) A US senator has introduced legislation to block any transfer of sovereignty over the Chagos Islands — including the strategic Diego Garcia military base — unless the US Senate formally approves changes to the long-standing defence treaty between Washington and London.Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, introduced the Diego Garcia Treaty Oversight Act, which would require the advice and consent of the…
New Delhi, March 7 (IANS) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Saturday explained India’s decision to permit an Iranian naval vessel to dock in Kochi amid the escalating conflict in West Asia, saying the ships had been “caught on the wrong side of events”.Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, EAM Jaishankar described how India had received a request from Iran regarding one of its naval ships, IRIS Lavan, which had reported technical problems while operating in the regio…
United Nations, Feb 20 (IANS) Iran will respond “decisively and proportionately” to any military aggression, exercising its right to self-defence under the UN Charter, its UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said in a letter to the secretary-general and the president of the Security Council.Citing US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks on Diego Garcia, Iravani wrote: “In such circumstances, all bases, facilities, and assets of the hostile force in the region would constitute legitimate targets …