Iran Fires Missiles 2,500 Miles to Indian Ocean Base, Revealing Extended Strike Capabilities

Iran escalated its military campaign by launching missiles at the Diego Garcia air base in the Indian Ocean—roughly 4,000 kilometers from Tehran—indicating a significant expansion of its strike range. The attack, which failed to hit its target, comes amid intensifying conflict between Israel, the United States, and Iran. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that next week’s offensive against Iran will “increase significantly,” hours after fragments from an Iranian missile struck an empty kindergarten near Tel Aviv. Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani posted video of the damaged building, confirming no casualties. Overnight airstrikes hammered Tehran as both sides signaled the war shows no signs of slowing. The U.S. and Israel have offered shifting justifications for the offensive—from attempting to spark regime change to dismantling Iran’s nuclear and missile programs—but no public evidence of internal unrest has emerged. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Japan’s Kyodo news service that Tehran seeks “a complete, comprehensive and lasting end to the war,” not a ceasefire. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said he is considering “winding down” operations in the Middle East, a statement that appeared to conflict with his administration’s deployment of three more amphibious assault ships and 2,500 additional Marines to the region. The U.S. also requested $200 billion more from Congress to fund the war. In a bid to ease fuel price pressures, the Trump administration lifted sanctions on Iranian oil already loaded onto ships as of Friday, with the pause set to expire April 19. The move does not increase production but may stabilize near-term supply. Saudi Arabia reported shooting down 20 drones in its eastern region Saturday within hours, with no reported damage or injuries. Separately, Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility was struck Saturday, according to the official Mizan news agency, which said there was no radiation leakage. The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed it was informed by Iran of the incident and that off-site radiation levels remained unchanged. Natanz, located about 220 kilometers southeast of Tehran, had been targeted in the war’s opening days and again during a 12-day conflict last June. Iran’s top military spokesperson, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, warned that ‟for parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations worldwide will not be safe” for the country’s enemies. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since succeeding his father after Israeli strikes, praised Iranians’ steadfastness in a Nowruz message read on state television. With limited information emerging from inside Iran, it remains unclear how much damage its military, nuclear, and energy sites have sustained or who holds real power. Still, Iranian attacks continue to choke oil supplies and drive up food and fuel prices well beyond the Middle East. In southern Lebanon, Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants clashed in the village of Khiam, with the Israeli military reporting at least four militants killed. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed over 1,000 people and displaced more than one million, according to the Lebanese government. Across the conflict zone, more than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran, 15 in Israel by Iranian missiles, four in the occupied West Bank, and at least 13 U.S. military members.

Analysis by Eleanor Cross (Chief Washington Correspondent).