According to U.S. officials cited by The Wall Street Journal on March 21, Iran launched ballistic missiles at a U.S. and British military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, though none of the missiles hit their intended target.

U.S. officials said the launch appeared intended to demonstrate Iran’s ability to threaten American interests far beyond the Middle East, potentially extending to key military sites in the Indian Ocean, The Caspian Post reports.

One missile fell short of its target, while another was targeted in an attempted intercept by a U.S. ship using an SM-3 interceptor, though it remains unclear whether the interception succeeded, officials said.

Diego Garcia is one of Washington’s most important strategic bases outside the Middle East, hosting bombers, nuclear submarines and guided-missile destroyers, the report said.

On March 3, U.S. President Donald Trump criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for refusing to support U.S. strikes on Iran.

Trump told The Sun the decision surprised him: “He [Starmer] didn’t help. I never thought I’d see that. I never thought I’d see that from the United Kingdom.”

On March 2, Starmer said the United Kingdom had agreed to a U.S. request to allow the use of British bases for strikes on Iranian military depots or missile launch sites.

He stressed the United Kingdom did not take part in joint U.S.-Israel airstrikes on Iran and does not plan to join further attacks.

The developments followed the launch of a joint U.S.-Israel operation against the Iranian regime on Feb. 28. In response, Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel and at Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.