Iran Targets Diego Garcia: A Return to the Indian Ocean
News outlets like the Associated Press are reporting that Iran has launched missiles at Diego Garcia, an isolated Indian Ocean island hosting a strategic US-UK military base. These reports frame the incident as a reckless, unprovoked attack by Iran, with Britain condemning the 'unsuccessful attempt' and questioning the proximity of the missiles to the base, located approximately 2,500 miles from
Iran. This narrative emphasizes the US’s characterization of Diego Garcia as an 'indispensable platform' for operations in the Middle East, South Asia, and East Africa, hosting some 2,500 American personnel. What mainstream coverage, exemplified by the AP, fundamentally ignores is the violent colonial origin and ongoing illegality of the Diego Garcia base. The UK's indignant condemnation of Iran's
actions conveniently bypasses the fact that the entire indigenous population of the Chagos Archipelago, numbering around 2,000 Chagossians, was forcibly removed by the British government in the late 1960s and early 1970s to make way for this very US military installation. This included the deliberate killing of pets and the deceptive removal of families under the guise of temporary trips. The
International Court of Justice in 2019 ruled that the UK's administration of the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, is unlawful, yet both the US and UK continue to disregard international law and human rights, maintaining the base as a crucial outpost for their joint operations in the region. This targeting by Iran connects directly to a broader pattern of US-Israeli joint aggression.