Trump slams Starmer over Iran base

US President Donald Trump expressed ‘great disappointment’ with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for initially refusing to allow the US to use the Diego Garcia air base for attacks against Iran. In an interview with the Telegraph, he said it had taken Starmer ‘too long’ to change his mind.

According to British media, London initially refused to grant permission for its bases to be used for US strikes. On Sunday evening, however, Starmer agreed to their use in possible ‘defensive’ attacks against Iranian targets.

‘This has probably never happened before between our countries. It sounds like he’s worried about the legality,’ the White House chief said.

Trump added that the Diego Garcia base, located in the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, is strategically important. He also criticised the agreement on sovereignty over the islands. In the end, Britain did not participate in the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran, in which the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed on Saturday.

Since the attacks began, Iran has been carrying out missile and drone strikes on Persian Gulf states. On Sunday, an Iranian drone struck the British RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus, with no casualties reported.

(reuters, max)