Trump’s Chagos U-turn came after UK ‘blocked him from using RAF bases for strikes on Iran’
US President Donald Trump has reportedly withdrawn the UK prime minister’s support for the Chagos Islands deal because the UK prevented America from using RAF bases to launch attacks on Iran.
President Trump lashed out at Sir Keir Starmer on Wednesday for his second U-turn over his support for a deal to hand over UK sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius, branding the move a “big mistake” over concerns about a joint UK-US military base on the island of Diego Garcia.
Accordingly Times, The US president’s latest opposition comes as the White House has refused to allow him to use British bases for attacks on Iran, out of concern that doing so would be a violation of international law.
A government spokesman said it would not comment on operational matters, but added: “There is a political process between the US and Iran, supported by the UK. Iran must never develop nuclear weapons and our priority is the security of the region.”
Following his meeting with Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday, President Trump announced on the Truth Social platform on Wednesday that the current deal was a “big mistake” and made a specific reference to Iran.
He said the joint military base could be vital for the US to attack Iran and warned Tehran could attack Britain.
According to Sir Keir’s plan to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, England would lease back the base in Diego Garcia. But Mr Trump called the regulation “weak” and “not good”.
The government has said it remains committed to advancing the Chagos Islands deal despite Mr Trump’s latest U-turn.
Justice Secretary Alex Davies-Jones has confirmed a bill agreeing to the deal returning to Parliament as soon as the timeline allows, but recent reports point to a possible delay.
The bill, originally planned to be debated in the House of Lords, was withdrawn last month after an amendment led by the Conservative Party calling for a pause “in light of changing geopolitical circumstances”.
Despite Ms Davies-Jones’ assurances, Policy The government will delay bringing legislation supporting the deal back to the House of Lords, he said, citing an unnamed senior official briefed on the plans.
However, it appears that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not recognize this news.
To talkTimes RadioMs Davies-Jones said: “This agreement is essential and vital to the UK’s national security and it is any government’s first priority.”
He added: “We will bring the bill back as soon as parliamentary time allows, because this is about national security.”
Ms Davies-Jones recalled the US leader’s changing attitude on the issue; he repeatedly supported the agreement publicly, but later condemned it again.
Ms Davies-Jones said: “I think it’s really important that in his first meeting with President Trump, the prime minister reiterated this agreement, President Trump supported it and said that this lease was a strong contract.
“Just two weeks ago the president backed this once again and said it was the best deal available, and just this week the US administration reaffirmed its commitment to the deal.”
President Trump’s latest post on Truth Social comes after former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a vocal critic of the Chagos agreement, returned from a trip to Washington where he discussed the plans with members of the Trump administration.
Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel and Reform England leader Nigel Farage, who opposed the deal, backed Mr Trump and told Sir Keir to cancel the deal.
Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Alicia Kearns said the deal was unnecessary and people were “misled” about the logic behind it.
The government says the future of the base is threatened by recent international court rulings.
The deal is expected to see Britain pay Mauritius around £35bn over the next century (at an average cost of £350m a year) to lease back the Diego Garcia base.
“We were told there were weeks, only weeks, when the base (the UK-US military base at Diego Garcia) could continue to operate safely. And now, for months, we are finding that the entire basis on which the Labor government said they had only weeks to negotiate and make it happen is not true,” Ms Kearns said. Times Radio.
It comes as the Chagos Islands government’s exiled first minister called on Sir Keir Starmer to withdraw a deal to hand over sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius.
Misley Mandarin is one of four Chagossians who returned to the islands on a small boat this week to reclaim their homeland. he said BBC Radio 4 That Sir Keir should not have given the islands to Mauritius.
He said: “Keir Starmer, as my prime minister, I will say that you need to look at this agreement again. British Chagossian to this island, you sent a patrol yesterday to give us a removal notice, the island belongs to us.”
“Harold Wilson did this… alienate the Chagossian from their homeland and it is a stain on British politics but now it is 2026, Keir Starmer, you could be a hero right now.
“Do not ratify this treaty, cancel it and let the Chagossians return to their homeland as British.”
