Britain has no intelligence assessment showing Iran can strike London or is seeking to target the UK, cabinet minister Steve Reed said on Sunday, pushing back against an Israeli military claim that Iranian missiles could reach major European capitals.

Speaking to the BBC, Reed, the housing secretary, said there was “no assessment to substantiate” the Israeli assertion and “no specific assessment that the Iranians are targeting the UK - or even could if they wanted to”.

His comments came after the Israeli military said in social media posts on Saturday that Iran had launched a missile with a range of about 4,000km, putting cities including London, Paris and Berlin within reach. The claim has not been independently verified.

The Israeli argument followed Friday’s attack on Diego Garcia, the joint US-UK base in the Indian Ocean, which lies roughly 3,800 to 4,000km from Iran. Associated Press reported that Iran fired two long-range missiles at the island, with one failing and the other intercepted.

That strike has raised fresh questions over whether Tehran has moved beyond its long-stated 2,000km limit on ballistic missile range. Analysts say it remains unclear whether the weapon used against Diego Garcia was a genuinely new system or a modified missile able to travel further only with a lighter payload, which could affect its accuracy and military usefulness.

Reed said the British assessment did not support the leap from the Diego Garcia attack to a proven ability to hit the UK mainland. He also drew a distinction between capability and intent, saying he was not aware of any assessment that Iran was trying to target Europe, “let alone that they could if they tried”.

The remarks underline the British government’s attempt to reassure the public while avoiding broader escalation in a conflict that has already drawn British forces and bases into the line of fire.

The war began on 28 February, when the United States and Israel launched strikes on targets in Iran. Tehran responded with waves of drones and missiles aimed at Israel, US assets and allied bases across the region.

British facilities have also been threatened. A drone struck RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on 1 March, damaging the runway but causing no casualties, and Defence Secretary John Healey has said Iranian missiles were fired towards Cyprus and the UK bases there.

In a Commons statement earlier this month, Healey said Iran had fired about 500 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 2,000 drones since the conflict began. He said UK aircraft had helped intercept threats over allied territory in the region.

Sir Keir Starmer’s government has insisted Britain is not a belligerent in the war, even though it later authorised the use of RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia for what ministers described as specific defensive operations against Iranian missile capabilities.

In a separate interview with Sky News on Sunday, Reed also declined to endorse President Donald Trump’s threat to “obliterate” Iranian power plants if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

“The US president is perfectly capable of speaking for himself and defending what he is saying,” Reed said.

He added that Britain would not be “dragged into this war”, while keeping open the option of “appropriate collective defensive action” to protect UK nationals, bases and interests.

Iran has previously presented its missile programme as regional and defensive, saying it limits ballistic missile range to about 2,000km. The Diego Garcia strike has thrown that position into doubt, but public evidence of any wider European reach remains limited.

For now, ministers appear to be drawing a narrower threat picture. While the government continues to describe Iran as a serious security challenge through proxies, cyber activity and what Healey says were around 20 foiled Iran-linked plots in the UK in recent years, Reed’s comments suggest Britain is not treating a direct missile strike on London as an established risk.

The government has continued to argue that the crisis requires a diplomatic solution as well as military deterrence. But on Sunday’s evidence, London is not prepared to endorse allied claims that Iran has already demonstrated an operational ability to strike the British mainland.