US-Israel-Iran War: The conflict between Iran and the US has decisively pushed into the Indian Ocean through two distinct strikes. When taken as a whole, the two signify an expansion of the geographical theater of the war.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, quoting US officials, Iran launched two ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK military station at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands.
The target was not hit by any of the missiles. One failed in midair, while the other was engaged by an interceptor fired from a US warship, though it's unclear if it was struck.
ALSO READ: Pakistan Leads Global Terrorism Index 2026; Where Do India, US Stand? | Check Full List
The installation is located about 4,000 kilometers from Iranian territory, which would be a significant increase above what Tehran was previously thought to be capable of. Iran will be able to attack European bases as a result.
The Pentagon has not yet commented on the matter. In a post on X, former Union minister Manish Tewari stated, "If reports are accurate that Iran tried to strike 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."
The Pentagon has stated that one of the main goals of the war against Iran, which started on February 28, is to destroy Iran's fleet.
Tehran has vowed to extend its retaliatory attacks to tourism and leisure destinations across the globe, which has sparked new worries about the Middle East's protracted conflict. General Abolfazl Shekarchi, Iran's top military spokesperson, cautioned that Tehran's adversaries would no longer be able to access "parks, recreational areas, and tourist destinations" after the US declared it was deploying additional warships and Marines to the area.
Additionally, American bombing assaults in Afghanistan and Iraq have used the Diego Garcia base as a staging area. It is one of two British locations that the United States presently uses for "defensive" activities against Iran, according to London.
While retaining a lease for the station on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands, Britain consented to return to Mauritius sovereignty over the Chagos Islands. Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has openly opposed the transfer.
ALSO READ: Israel-US-Iran War LIVE Updates: 'We Will Not Accept Ceasefire', Says Iran FM Araghchi
A few weeks before, a US submarine used a torpedo to sink the Iranian destroyer IRIS Dena south of Sri Lanka in the war's first Indian Ocean action, killing around 85 people. The warship was a frigate returning home from Milan 2026, an Indian-hosted international naval exercise.