Trump humiliates Starmer over Iran war — no longer ‘number one ally’ | UK | News
Britain risks losing its status as Washington’s closest partner after Donald Trump questioned whether Britain remained America’s “number one ally” and threatened that NATO could be finished if allies fail to act on Iran.
Speaking to reporters, Trump demanded that European countries deploy military forces to combat what he called “bad actors” along Iran’s coastline and to help clear the Strait of Hormuz; He insisted that the burden was heavier on Europe and China, which are more dependent on Gulf oil than on the United States.
“If there is no response or a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO,” he said.
Trump also issued a sharp warning to Ukraine, framing American support as a favor that must now be repaid.
“We did not need to help them with Ukraine. Ukraine is thousands of kilometers away from us… But we helped them. Now we will see if they will help us,” he said.
England called out
Despite describing the UK as America’s “longest-serving” ally, Trump made clear to the Financial Times that Sir Keir Starmer’s government was disappointed at a time when military cooperation was needed most.
“When you asked them to come, they didn’t want to come,” he said.
This tension had already been flagged by Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who told GB News that the two leaders’ relationship was problematic.
“The president’s position is that we’ve done a lot for Europe, a lot for the UK, in terms of trade, defense and our support for NATO,” Witkoff said. “Sometimes the return, the reciprocity… is a little lacking. I’ll leave it at that.”
Ships arrive very late
HMS Dragon has since been sent to Cyprus, but Trump is unimpressed.
“We need these ships before we win, not after we win,” he said.
The president argued that the threat had already passed, claiming that Iran had been “essentially decimated” and could now cause only minor disruption; He repeated his rhetoric last week that the conflict had been won, “even if it wasn’t won enough”.
Conflicts continued to claim lives. The names of the six American refueling crew members killed in a crash in western Iraq were released Friday. The other day, a French soldier lost his life in an Iranian drone attack. On Sunday, an Italian aircraft was destroyed at a base in Kuwait, while RAF Akrotiri, Britain’s dominant base, was hit by a drone launched from Lebanon and escaped serious damage.
Oil markets noted tension; Brent crude reached $104 per barrel on Sunday evening; this was the highest point since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
