President Donald Trump is "very disappointed" in British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for preventing the U.S. from using U.K. air bases for strikes on Iran, according to a report.
Trump told The Telegraph he was taken aback by Starmer's initial refusal to let U.S. forces use the strategic Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean to launch strikes against Iranian missile and military targets.
"That's probably never happened between our countries before," Trump told the British newspaper, describing the delay as unprecedented in the modern U.S.-U.K. alliance. "It sounds like he was worried about the legality."
Britain had denied U.S. requests to use Diego Garcia and Britain's RAF Fairford, citing international law concerns.
However, Starmer reversed course Sunday night, granting access to Diego Garcia for what Downing Street described as "specific and limited defensive purposes."
Trump said the prime minister "took far too long" to reach that decision.
The dispute reportedly prompted Trump to withdraw his support for Starmer's agreement to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing back the base for 99 years at a projected cost of $41 billion.
Trump blasted the deal as "a very woke thing" and said it would have been "much better" for Britain to retain full ownership rather than cede territory to what he suggested were not the "rightful owners."
"All of a sudden [Mauritius] was claiming ownership," Trump said. "He should have fought it out and owned it."
The Pentagon had requested use of British bases as Iran escalated missile and drone attacks across the Middle East, targeting Israel and Gulf nations that host U.S. forces.
According to The Telegraph, the request came as Tehran intensified strikes that could have strengthened the legal justification for British cooperation.
Within hours of Starmer's announcement granting limited access, an Iranian Shahed drone struck RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. No casualties were reported, but British personnel were ordered to take cover, and families have since been relocated.
The BBC on Sunday reported that a phone call between Trump and Starmer was brief and initiated by the White House.
While Downing Street's public readout said only that the two leaders discussed "the situation in the Middle East," the BBC noted that Britain, along with France and Germany, has not formally endorsed the U.S.-Israeli military campaign.
Starmer has condemned Iran's actions and emphasized that British aircraft in the region are operating defensively and "within international law."
However, critics on the right — including the Conservative Party and Reform U.K. — have accused Starmer of "sitting on the fence" and failing to stand firmly with America.
Diego Garcia remains a crucial asset. Located roughly 2,400 miles from Iran's southern coast, it is beyond the range of Iranian ballistic missiles but within striking distance for U.S. B-2 bombers.
Meanwhile, Trump said the U.S. operation against Iran is "well ahead of schedule," claiming key leadership targets and missile capabilities were neutralized in the first waves of strikes.
"They want to make a deal badly," he said, adding that Tehran should have come to the table sooner.
As Iran retaliates and tens of thousands of British citizens register for potential evacuation from the region, the episode underscores tensions within the trans-Atlantic alliance at a moment of mounting global instability, and raises fresh questions about Britain's reliability as America's closest military partner.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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