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'Not Churchill': Trump slams UK PM Starmer after rift over Iran strikes
Donald Trump also criticised Keir Starmer's decision to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, home to the US-UK air base of Diego Garcia.
US President Donald Trump sharply criticised UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday, saying his lack of immediate support for US strikes on Iran showed "this is not Winston Churchill we're dealing with".
During a meeting in the Oval Office with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump told reporters that he was very disappointed with Britain.
Donald Trump compares UK PM to Winston Churchill
"This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with," he said as quoted by Reuters, comparing Keir Starmer with Britain's revered wartime leader.
Trump also criticised Starmer's decision to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, home to the US-UK air base of Diego Garcia, saying they have "been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island".
What Trump earlier said about the UK PM
Earlier too, Trump criticised Starmer after he said neither the British military nor its air bases were involved in the initial US and Israeli strikes on Tehran that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Trump earlier told the Sun newspaper he never thought he would see Britain become a reluctant partner. He praised France and Germany.
"This was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe. France has been great. They've all been great. The UK has been much different from others," he had said as per Reuters.
What has the UK PM said on the matter
Starmer told parliament that the government had learnt from its mistakes in backing the US in the 2003 Iraq war, and said any military action must have a "viable, thought-through plan". He also said he did not believe in "regime change from the skies".
But Starmer has since allowed the US to use UK bases to launch what he called limited and defensive strikes to weaken Tehran's capabilities, after Iran hit US allies in the region with drones and missiles. On Monday, a British base in Cyprus was hit by a drone that Cypriot officials said was likely launched by Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, prompting London to send a destroyer and more helicopters with counter-drone technology to the region.
Britain, France and Germany released a joint statement in response to Iranian attacks on Saturday, saying they were in close contact with the US, Israel and partners in the region, and were calling for a resumption of negotiations.
Britain has long prided itself on its relationship with the US, aided by British leaders such as Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair cultivating strong relationships with their counterparts, Franklin D Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and George W Bush.
