In a warning to Brits, US defense chief Pete Hegseth suggested London is in range of Iranian missiles, saying: ’You’re telling us Iran is not a threat to the world, President Trump knows better...’
United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has issued a stark warning to Brits, saying London could be in range of Iranian missiles.
The US defense chief and former television personality made the warning at a cabinet meeting in the White House today. "Two days ago they shot two failed missiles at a target 4,000km away. For years they only told the world their missiles could only range 2000km, surprise - yet again, Iran lied," Hegseth told reporters.
"And to the world I say London is only 4,000km from Iran," he added. “You’re telling us that Iran is not a threat to the world, President Trump knows better.” However, there is still debate over whether Iran did in fact launch the missiles, as the US and Israel claim.
Spectacular New Year fireworks light up London sky as huge crowds celebrate across UK for first time in three years
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the military alliance "cannot confirm" Israel’s claim that missiles allegedly targeting the UK-US base on Diego Garcia last week were fired by Iran.
The strike against the military base in the Indian Ocean, which houses both UK and US troops and is being used by the US to launch strikes on Iran, was first reported in US media on Saturday.
How far can Iran’s missiles reach?
Unnamed US officials told The Wall Street Journal that Iran had fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the US-UK base but one of the missiles failed in flight while a US warship fired an interceptor at the other.
The Israeli military then claimed Iran had used a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile to target Diego Garcia, which it said had at least two rocket engines, could reach space, and could hit targets 4,000km away. But in response, the Iranian government denied targeting Diego Garcia.
On Sunday, UK Housing Secretary Steve Reed told the BBC: “Our assessment is that the Iranians certainly targeted Diego Garcia. As we understand it, one missile fell short, failed. The other was intercepted and prevented.” He declined to say how far short the missiles fell.
“There is no specific assessment that the Iranians are targeting the U.K. or even could if they wanted to,” Reed said.
On Monday, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the accusations reflected a pattern of “disinformation.” Referencing Mark Rutte’s statement that NATO ’couldn’t confirm’ the origin of the missiles, Baghaei said on X: "That even the NATO Secretary General (who is infamously pressing Alliance members to appease the US and support their illegal war on Iran) declines to endorse Israel’s most recent disinformation, speaks volumes: the world has grown thoroughly exhausted with these tired and discredited ‘false flag’ storylines.”
Speaking today, the UK Defence Secretary John Healey refused to say whether Iran could reach London with missile strikes. Asked repeatedly on Sky News, he said: “We have no assessment of Iranian plans to strike London.”
Robbie Williams poised to launch his own brand of energy drinks to rival Prime
Pressed again on whether Iran could hit London with missiles, he said: “What I’m saying, and trying to reassure people, is that we’ve got no assessment that Iran has any plans to attack.
“But we have the resources, we have the alliance in place to be able to defend Britain, and we do that with allies, and we do that with Nato. As far as Iran goes, they’re demonstrating a capacity to hit across the Middle East, we see the same tactics and technologies that we see employed by Russia in Ukraine, and this is the hidden hand of Putin in both conflicts.”
Tehran has previously stated it had unilaterally limited the range of its missiles to 2,000km. Iran’s possessing intercontinental ballistic missiles was one of the key sticking points in negotiations before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran has long been known to have short-range ballistic missiles - with a maximum range of 3,000km, the BBC reports.
The missile that failed in flight to Diego Garcia last Friday managed to travel some 3,000km from its launching base, the broadcaster said.
Lifestyle & Culture Editor
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
