Shortly after midnight, Iran launched two long-range missiles towards the US base at Diego Garcia, the joint US-UK military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal citing multiple US officials. This indicates a strike range of up to 4,000 kilometres.
Neither missile struck the base, but the attack marked Iran’s first operational use of intermediate-range ballistic missiles and a significant attempt to project force far beyond the Middle East against US interests. One missile failed in flight, while a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other, though it remains unclear whether the interception was successful.
This came amid sustained exchanges, with Iranian missiles continuing to be fired at Israel overnight, triggering repeated nationwide alerts. The night’s exchanges followed a day of intense confrontation. Iranian missiles had earlier set off sirens across central Israel, Jerusalem and the Negev, while alerts in the north, near the Lebanese border, were triggered by Hezbollah drone incursions.
President Donald Trump’s rhetoric remains uncompromising
Impact sites were reported in central Israel, where Home Front Command search and rescue forces were deployed. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem’s Old City, adjacent to the Temple Mount, debris fell, prompting emergency operations.
Israel confirmed a series of major airstrikes in Tehran and central Iran, targeting weapons production facilities, missile component sites, and storage locations for long-range ballistic launchers. Dozens of military installations were hit in two waves of strikes, as part of what officials described as a systematic effort to degrade Iran’s strategic capabilities.
Israeli forces also hit Hezbollah targets in Beirut overnight, following evacuation warnings in the city’s Dahiya district. Lebanese reports described heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, south of Maroun al-Ras.
The conflict continued to play out across multiple fronts. Explosions were reported in Kuwait, while pro-Iranian channels claimed attacks on targets in the Gulf, including a reported strike on a hotel in the United Arab Emirates said to house Americans. Iran also warned residents to evacuate Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates ahead of potential strikes, publishing routes and citing alleged use of the area for attacks. Meanwhile, sirens sounded at the US airbase in Incirlik, Turkey, following a missile launch.
In Lebanon, the human toll has mounted significantly. The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported 1,021 killed and 2,641 wounded since the start of the current round of fighting. Israeli officials said more than 600 Hezbollah fighters were among the dead.
Inside Iran, Israeli sources reported the elimination of a key Iranian Ministry of Intelligence commander earlier in the week, while further assassination attempts were reported in Karaj and Tehran. Iranian messaging, including a written statement attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei, called for national unity and a ‘resistance economy’, while denying attacks on neighbouring states despite repeated alerts in Turkey.
The United Kingdom has approved the use of its bases for US strikes on Iranian targets linked to attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, marking a limited expansion of its role in the conflict. Ministers agreed the move at a meeting on Friday, allowing American forces to use British facilities for what Downing Street described as ‘defensive operations’ aimed at protecting shipping in the vital waterway. While the UK will not be directly involved in the strikes, the decision broadens earlier permissions, which had been restricted to preventing attacks threatening British interests. Officials stressed that the government’s overall approach remains unchanged, while calling for urgent de-escalation and a swift resolution to the war.
The United States, meanwhile, announced new rewards on the heads of five senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard figures, including General Ahmad Vahidi and other top commanders across intelligence, cyber, and drone units. Reports also indicate that America is considering seizing Kharg Island, the hub for over 90 per cent of Iran’s oil exports, alongside the deployment of thousands of Marines to the region.
President Donald Trump’s rhetoric remains uncompromising. He stated that the United States is very close to achieving its goals in Iran and rejected the idea of a ceasefire, arguing that ‘you don’t do a ceasefire when you are literally obliterating the other side’. He also suggested that Iran’s leadership structure has effectively collapsed: ‘Now no one wants to be a leader there anymore. We want to talk to them, but we have no one to talk to.’
Oil prices have surged to $113 (£84.60) per barrel, while J.P. Morgan has forecast a 9 per cent contraction in Qatar’s GDP for this year as a result of Iranian attacks. In the United States, emergency measures have already been taken, including suspending fuel taxes in Georgia and approving more than $23 billion (£17 billion) in accelerated arms sales to Middle Eastern allies.
A Politico survey found that most opinion leaders in the United States support joint US-Israeli action against Iran, with support among Maga voters exceeding 80 per cent.
