President Donald Trump has expressed his deep disappointment with Sir Keir Starmer after the Prime Minister initially blocked American forces from launching strikes against Iran from the Diego Garcia military base.Speaking to The Telegraph, the US President described Downing Street’s refusal to permit operations from the Chagos Islands facility as something unprecedented in Anglo-American relations.”That’s probably never happened between our countries before,” Mr Trump said. “It sounds like he was worried about the legality.”The Republican leader suggested the Prime Minister should have taken a firmer stance on British control of the territory rather than yielding to Mauritian sovereignty claims.
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“He should have fought it out and owned it or make him take it, if you want to know the truth,” Mr Trump stated. “But no, we were very disappointed in Keir.”Sir Keir eventually reversed his position on Sunday, announcing that American forces would be permitted to operate from British bases to target Iranian missile sites for “specific and limited defensive purposes.”However, the President made clear this change of heart came too late.”It is useful. It took far too much time. Far too much time,” Mr Trump told The Telegraph.The US leader’s frustration centred on the initial denial of access for strikes targeting Iran’s military infrastructure and leadership.While the Prime Minister had also refused permission for operations from RAF Fairford alongside Diego Garcia, his eventual concession applied specifically to the strategically vital Indian Ocean base, which serves as a crucial facility for long-range air operations in the Middle East.The diplomatic dispute forms part of a broader row over the Government’s agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing back the Diego Garcia base.Under the arrangement, Britain will pay £34.7billion over 99 years to maintain access to the joint UK-US military installation.LATEST DEVELOPMENTSKeir Starmer to be accused of committing ‘crime against humanity’ in surrendering Chagos IslandsKeir Starmer’s Chagos Islands surrender in chaos as Mauritius scrap relations with MaldivesDonald Trump refuses to back Chagos ‘surrender’ unless Keir Starmer lets him attack Iran from UK-US baseMr Trump has been scathing about the deal, describing it as “a very woke thing” in his Telegraph interview.”It would have been much better on the legal front if he just kept the ownership of the land and not given it to people that weren’t the rightful owners,” the President added.Ministers have defended the agreement as essential for securing the base’s future following a 2019 International Court of Justice advisory ruling that supported Mauritius’s territorial claims.The Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel condemned the Government’s handling of the situation as “shameful.””It is no surprise that our closest and most important ally is so disappointed,” she said. “The Labour Government’s response to the crisis in Iran has been shameful.”Dame Priti accused the Prime Minister of failing to show leadership, stating: “We should have been supporting our allies, not making it harder for them. “Even now Starmer is still trying to sit on the fence, which is a complete failure of leadership.”She called for the Chagos agreement to be abandoned entirely, noting that during her recent visit to Washington, criticism of the deal was universal among those she met.”It is undermining the special relationship and should be scrapped,” Dame Priti added.Green Party leader Zack Polanski said: “The events of the past 48 hours have laid bare Keir Starmer’s utter inability to stand up to Donald Trump and this weakness could have serious consequences for the safety of British people.”We now face being dragged into another illegal war in the Middle East which has now pulled in multiple countries. People in this country do not want this and it must not be allowed to happen.”Starmer must withdraw permission for the US to use UK bases to launch airstrikes on Iran and parliament must be given a vote on any UK involvement.”
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