Iran Puts Diego Garcia on its Target Deck
Iran’s Press TV, which normally identifies with hardline factions within the Iranian political system, has included the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia amongst a list of US bases in the Middle East region which would be ‘within Iran’s cross-hairs’ for retaliatory strikes should either the United States or Israel launch attacks on Iran.
The article acknowledges a negotiation of sorts is underway between Iran and the United States, with Iran currently framing its response to a letter from President Trump passed to the Iranians through intermediaries.
The list of US bases on the target list also includes Al Udeid Air Base (Qatar), Al Dhafra Air Base (UAE), Naval Support Activity Bahrain, Dimona Radar Facility (Israel), Muwaffaq Salti Air Base (Jordan), Camp Arifjan (Kuwait) and Ain al-Assad Airbase (Iraq). The article includes satellite imagery of each facility.
The article suggests that deep-water piers, anchorages and port facilities of Camp Thunder, plus deployments of B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortress bombers on Diego Garcia’s airfield would be targets. It suggests that Diego Garcia is within the 4000km range of Iranian Khorramshahr missiles and Shahed-136B kamikaze drones, but also of missiles and drones launched from Iranian naval vessels such as the drone carriers Shahid Mahdavi (C110-3) and Shahid Bagheri (C110-4).
Negotiations over the future of Diego Garcia have stalled for the time being, while the United Kingdom awaits a formal response from the United States on the provisional agreement reached with the new Mauritian government. While President Trump signaled approval of the deal, he made it clear that it had not been studied in detail, with a range of potential difficulties which could yet be identified.
In the United Kingdom, political opposition has been mounting to the overall structure of the deal, which entails the United Kingdom paying large additional sums of money to Mauritius, probably sourced from the defense budget, without receiving any quid pro quo from the United States, whilst passing sovereignty over the Chagosian population without consultation or their consent to Mauritius.
Leaks from the United States, the United Kingdom and most prolifically from Mauritius give contradictory accounts of the current status of negotiations. But it seems likely that all parties want to pause the talks for the present, while the United States is apparently considering whether it should make a direct bid for sovereignty for the 60 km2 tropical paradise itself, given both its defense utility and potential as a resort destination.