Donald Trump has renewed his stinging criticism of UK prime minister Keir Starmer over the lack of immediate UK support for the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
“The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, adding: “That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer – But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”
The put-down comes after the UK said it would allow US forces to use bases in Fairford, Gloucestershire, and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, for “specific and limited defensive purpose” after initially refusing the US permission.
Trump’s statement came hours after the UK ministry of defence announced that four US bombers had landed at an Royal Air Force base in Britain on Friday and Saturday and had already “started using British bases” to carry out operations “to prevent Iran firing missiles into the region, which is putting British lives at risk”.
The statement also comes after British officials said they were preparing an aircraft carrier for possible deployment to the Middle East amid rising tensions linked to the conflict between the United States and Israel and Iran.
A UK defence ministry spokesperson said: “HMS Prince of Wales has always been on very high readiness and we are increasing the preparedness of the carrier, reducing the time it would take to set sail for any deployment.”
Members of Starmer’s Labour party have been cautious about military involvement in the war. Critics of the UK government claim the prime minister has put domestic electoral concerns before a foreign policy that traditionally values the “special relationship” with the US.
Earlier Saturday, at a regional security conference in Miami, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, seemed to offer a veiled criticism of the UK and other nations, like Spain, that refused to let bases be used for strikes on Iran:
“At a time when we have learned that an ally, when you need them, may not be there for you, these are countries that have been there for us,” he said, adding: “We want you to see that when you are a friend and ally to the United States, it is a good thing and it is reciprocated back the other way.”
