UK Minister Says No Evidence Iran Is Targeting Europe With Missiles

Britain's Housing Secretary Steve Reed pushed back sharply on Saturday against Israeli military claims that Iran possesses missiles capable of striking London, Paris or Berlin, telling the BBC he had seen no intelligence to support the assertion.

"There is no assessment to substantiate what's being said," Reed said. "I'm not aware of any assessment at all that they are even trying to target Europe, let alone that they could if they tried."

The remarks came a day after the Israel Defence Forces posted on social media that Iran holds missiles "that can reach London, Paris or Berlin," with the Israeli military claiming a range of around 4,000 kilometres that it said posed a danger to dozens of countries across Europe, Asia and Africa. "We have been saying it: The Iranian terrorist regime poses a global threat," the IDF statement read.

Reed addressed a specific incident that triggered the latest alarm: an Iranian strike assessed to have targeted the joint US-UK base at Diego Garcia. "The first point is they didn't hit Diego Garcia," he told LBC. "Our assessment is that they targeted it with two missiles. One failed, the other was intercepted. So we have perfectly adequate resources to keep the United Kingdom safe. And everybody should feel reassured about this." The Wall Street Journal separately reported that one missile was shot down by a US warship while the other failed in flight, an account consistent with Reed's version of events.

Reed also addressed President Donald Trump's threat to "obliterate" Iran's power plants if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, declining to align Britain with the ultimatum. "The U.S. president is perfectly capable of speaking for himself and defending what it is that he's saying," he told Sky News. "We're not going to be dragged into the war, but we will protect our own interests in the region. We will work with our allies to de-escalate the situation."

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper also condemned Iran's missile strikes on the joint US-UK base while stressing that Britain would not be drawn into a wider conflict, with ministers backing defensive action only.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer had already set out the UK's position in a formal update to the House on 2 March, making clear that Britain played no part in the initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran. "The United Kingdom was not involved in the initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran. That decision was deliberate," Starmer said. He also sought to address concerns about strikes on British territory, stating: "Our bases in Cyprus have not been used by US forces for offensive strikes. A strike on RAF Akrotiri was not in response to any decision the UK has taken. Our assessment is that the drone was launched before our announcement."

Starmer confirmed that British Typhoons and F-35s had been deployed for several days as part of coalition defensive operations, successfully intercepting multiple threats including drones headed toward a coalition base in Iraq housing UK personnel.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch used the episode to demand greater transparency, urging Starmer to "come clean" about the details of the latest attack on British troops and explain why the public had not been informed.

Reed's closing position on British defensive capability was unambiguous: "Where there have been attempts to target British assets, as with Diego Garcia, they have failed, and they will continue to fail.