Donald Trump said the United Kingdom delayed excessively in permitting American forces to employ its airfields for strikes on Iran.
He also expressed strong disappointment in Keir Starmer regarding the government’s arrangement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius in order to maintain the UK‑US base on Diego Garcia, located in the Indian Ocean.
Trump noted that he had originally backed the Chagos agreement but later dismissed it as an overly progressive move.
Although Starmer and his cabinet did not openly contest Saturday’s first wave of US‑Israeli attacks on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, they barred US aircraft from Diego Garcia and other British bases citing legal uncertainties.
By Sunday night, Starmer announced a reversal, saying the stance shifted after Iran launched a series of retaliatory missile and drone strikes across the Middle East, one of which struck a British base in Cyprus.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Trump criticised Starmer for being sluggish in revising his position, stating: “It took far too much time. Far too much time.”
“That kind of delay is unprecedented between our nations. It appears he was concerned about the legality,” he added.
Trump argued that the UK should have instantly permitted the use of Diego Garcia, because Iran was responsible for the deaths of many British citizens.
He said, “There are people who have lost limbs and faces in explosions; Iran accounts for roughly 95 % of those casualties. Those terrible incidents were caused by Iran,” without further clarification.
The parliamentary bill to cement the Mauritius agreement is currently stalled at its final reading after Trump reversed his stance.
Starmer has indicated that the legislation will not proceed without American consent.
Earlier in February, Trump had denounced the proposal, which the U.S. State Department supports, yet he also called it the best compromise Starmer could achieve under the circumstances.
Later that month, the president posted on social media that Starmer was committing a serious error by ceding the islands to Mauritius in exchange for continued British‑American access to the Diego Garcia airfield.
“Suddenly Mauritius claimed ownership,” Trump told the British newspaper. “He should have contested it or taken it by force, if you ask me. We were very disappointed in Keir.”
He continued: “It would have been far preferable legally if he had retained the territory rather than handing it to parties who are not the rightful owners.”
Regarding the Iranian operation, Trump claimed the campaign was “well ahead of schedule,” noting: “We expected it to last four weeks, and thought it would take two to three weeks to eliminate some leaders, yet we removed all of them in a single day.''
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