Iranian military commanders are reportedly contemplating a preemptive strike on a joint U.S.-U.K. base located on Chagos Island in the Indian Ocean. This move appears to be an effort to deter President Donald Trump from initiating military action against Iran, as first reported by the Telegraph.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, an expert on Iran and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, commented to Fox News Digital on the strategy behind these alleged threats against the U.S. base: “Like any Iranian military threat, the art is to determine what is bluster and what is real.”
He further explained that “deception is a propaganda tool used to bolster deterrence and prevent a conventionally weak regime from having to fight.” By projecting threats across various fronts, the Iranian regime aims to avoid conflict while maintaining its revolutionary foreign policy stance.
Though Fox News Digital has not independently verified the threat against the Diego Garcia base, positioned approximately 2,400 miles south of Iran, security experts have voiced concerns. They suggest that Tehran may have, if not direct missile capabilities, alternative options to position its arsenal to target U.S. strategic interests at greater distances.
Iran operates with a “self-imposed” range limitation of about 1,200 miles concerning its ballistic capabilities. However, it is suspected that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) possesses the Khorramshahr-2 medium-range ballistic missile, with a potential strike capability of up to 1,800 miles, as explained by Ben Taleblu in a post on X.
Furthermore, Tehran has developed an updated version of this missile, the Khorramshahr-4 or Kheibar missile, which may have enhanced capabilities, though its full potential remains untested.
Even if Iran lacks the capability to strike a U.S. target 2,400 miles away, it has demonstrated ingenuity in expanding its operational range. This includes the use of merchant ships and oil tankers converted into warships, enhancing its long-range strike abilities.
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According to Ben Taleblu, “There’s always the chance of using a foreign-procured container launched cruise missile from even an unconverted tanker or commercial vessel at sea,” referencing Iran’s acquisition of Russian and Chinese cruise missiles post the 1980s war with Iraq.
Moreover, Iran could leverage its connections with terrorist networks to transfer missile capabilities to conflict zones like Yemen, potentially enabling strikes further south into the Indian Ocean, approximately 800 miles away.
“While all these options would make Iran’s launch platforms, especially at sea, easy targets for a counterstrike, they indicate that Tehran does have options to strike further afield than expected,” Ben Taleblu remarked.
Recently, Trump has intensified his rhetoric against Iran, warning of potential direct conflict if Tehran does not cease its support for the Houthi terrorist group or halt its nuclear program.
The level of U.S. response to any direct attack on its military remains uncertain, which could lead to catastrophic consequences for Tehran, especially considering its defense capabilities revealed during strikes from Israel.
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On Monday, Iran filed a complaint with the United Nations Security Council, condemning Trump’s threats as “reckless and belligerent” and a “flagrant violation of international law.” According to a report from Reuters, Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani stated that Tehran “strongly warns against any military adventurism and will respond swiftly and decisively to any act of aggression or attack by the United States or its proxy, the Israeli regime, against its sovereignty, territorial integrity, or national interests.”
