No assessment Iran could strike London, UK minister says

There is "no assessment to substantiate" Israel's claim that Iran has long-range missiles capable of reaching London, a UK cabinet minister has said.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed told the BBC there was "no specific assessment that the Iranians are targeting the UK - or even could if they wanted to", after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that Tehran had weapons that could reach up to 4,000km (2,485 miles).

It comes after it emerged Iran targeted the joint US-UK military base on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, around 3,800km from Iran.

Iran fired two ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia - one of which failed and fell short while the other was intercepted - overnight into Friday.

After news of the attempted attack emerged, the IDF said on Saturday that it had revealed last year that Tehran had intended to develop missiles capable of reaching Europe, Asia and Africa.

It added: "We have been saying it: The Iranian terrorist regime poses a global threat.

Now, with missiles that can reach London, Paris or Berlin," a social media post added.

Asked whether this was true, Reed insisted that there was "no specific assessment that the Iranians are targeting the UK or even could, if they wanted to".

Pressed again about the post, he said: "There is no assessment to substantiate what's being said."
Even if Iran were able to launch strikes at such a range, the British armed forces would be able to defend the UK, he said.

The longest-range weapon in Iran's arsenal is thought to have a maximum range of 2,000km, far short of both Diego Garcia and London.

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