LONDON (AP) — Iran has launched missiles at Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean island that is home to a strategic UK-US military base.

Britain condemned “Iran’s reckless attacks” after the unsuccessful attempt to hit the base. It’s unclear how close the missiles came to the island, which is about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from Iran.

Here is what to know about the remote but strategic base.

It’s a hub for US operations in the Middle East and beyond

The US has described the Diego Garcia base as “an all but indispensable platform” for security operations in the Middle East, South Asia, and East Africa.

Home to about 2,500 mostly American personnel, it has supported US military operations from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, the US acknowledged it had also been used for clandestine rendition flights of terror suspects.

Last year, the US deployed several nuclear-capable B-2 Spirit bombers to Diego Garcia amid an intense airstrike campaign targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Britain initially refused to let the base be used for US attacks on Iran, but after Iran lashed out at its neighbors, the UK said American bombers could use Diego Garcia and another British base to attack Iran’s missile sites. On Friday, the British government said that it includes sites being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The UK insists British bases can only be used for “specific and limited defensive operations.”

But Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas........

© The Times of Israel