The UK Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, stated that there is no assessment to substantiate Israel's claim that Iran has long-range missiles capable of reaching London.
Reed told the BBC that there was no specific assessment that the Iranians are targeting the UK, after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Tehran had weapons that could reach up to 4,000km (2,485 miles).
This comes after Iran targeted the joint US-UK military base on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, around 3,800km from Iran, with two ballistic missiles, one of which failed and fell short, while the other was intercepted.
Police and Military Response
The UK government has allowed British airbases to be used for strikes on sites targeting UK interests and allies in the region, and British forces operating in the Middle East have shot down multiple Iranian drones since the start of the conflict.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Defence said a ground-based unit operating in a high threat area had downed a drone overnight.
Investigation and Official Statements
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that Iran had the capacity to reach deep into Europe, while Iran's foreign minister said earlier this month that his country had deliberately capped its missiles' range at 2,000km.
Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said that while it was probably accurate that Iran had missiles capable of reaching the UK, it was not the most pressing threat due to their inaccuracy at long distances.
International Implications
The conflict has spread across the Middle East since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February, with the UK government expanding targets under the collective self-defence justification to include Iranian sites being used to threaten vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Liberal Democrats and Green Party have said the move risks broadening the UK's involvement in the conflict, and are demanding that Parliament should be given a vote on allowing the US to use British bases for strikes.
