US President Donald Trump publicly criticised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday over Britain’s refusal to join the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, saying the two nations’ relationship is no longer what it once was.
Starmer initially blocked American planes from using British bases for the attacks on Iran that started on Saturday. He later agreed to let the United States use bases in England and on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to strike Iran’s ballistic missiles and their storage sites, but not to hit other targets.
Trump said he was disappointed in Starmer and suggested the British leader’s hesitation was driven by concerns about the legality of the operation, describing the delay as something that had probably never happened between the two countries before.
At the White House on Tuesday, Trump went further, comparing Starmer unfavourably to wartime leader Winston Churchill as he blasted Britain’s reluctance to grant access to its bases.
Starmer defended his position before Parliament on Monday, saying his duty was to act in Britain’s national interest. He referenced the Iraq war, saying those lessons had shaped his approach. Even after the British base at Akrotiri in Cyprus was struck by an Iran-made drone over the weekend, Starmer maintained that the United Kingdom would not join offensive action.
He said Tuesday that a Royal Navy destroyer, HMS Dragon, and Wildcat helicopters with counter-drone capabilities were being sent to the region as part of defensive operations. British forces have also shot down drones in Jordanian and Iraqi airspace.
Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty rejected suggestions that the special relationship was under serious strain, saying the US-UK bond has endured and will continue to endure across both economic and security fronts.
The Iran war has divided European leaders more broadly. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Mark Rutte expressed full support for the US decision to attack Iran, while the UK, France and Germany said they were not involved in the strikes but were prepared to support necessary and proportionate defensive action.
