Donald Trump has launched a sharp new attack on Prime Minister Keir Starmer over Britain’s handling of the escalating war involving Iran in the Middle East.
In a post on Truth Social, the US president described the United Kingdom as “our once great ally” while dismissing the planned deployment of two Royal Navy aircraft carriers to the Middle East. Trump said the US no longer needed the ships and suggested Britain’s response had come too late.
The remarks mark another blow to the so-called “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom, which has come under increasing strain during the current conflict.
Trump Dismisses UK Plan To Send Royal Navy Aircraft Carriers
Writing on Truth Social, Trump criticised the British government’s consideration of sending naval assets to the region.
He posted: “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. 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 US president has been angered by Starmer’s earlier decision to refuse a request allowing American jets to launch strikes from British bases alongside Israeli forces targeting Iran.
According to reports, that refusal deepened tensions between Washington and London as the military campaign intensified.
Keir Starmer Defends UK Decision On Iran Conflict
Starmer later reversed the position last Sunday after Iran began launching strikes across several Gulf countries, putting an estimated 300,000 British nationals in the region at risk.
Despite the change in stance, Trump continued to criticise the prime minister publicly. At one point he also mocked Starmer by saying he was “not Winston Churchill”.
The British prime minister has maintained that he does not believe the US and Israeli bombing campaign is legal, and has questioned whether there is a clear strategy for what comes next.
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Speaking on Thursday, Starmer defended his position and emphasised the independence of British decision-making.
He said: “Clearly it’s for the president to take decisions that he considers in the national interest, the right decisions for the US. I understand that, I respect that.
“But equally, it’s for me as the British prime minister to take decisions that I consider to be in the best interests of the United Kingdom. There’s nothing controversial about that.”
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