US President Donald Trump has renewed his criticism of Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the UK’s position on recent military action against Iran.
Speaking to The Sun, Trump claimed the British leader had “not been helpful” after initially declining to allow American and Israeli forces to use UK bases during the strikes.
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The remarks came just one day after Trump said he was “very disappointed” in Starmer — comments that prompted a response from the prime minister in the Commons.
Starmer has maintained that Britain would not participate in what he described as “offensive” operations targeting Iran.
US-UK Dispute Over Military Base Access
Despite ruling out direct involvement, the prime minister confirmed that the United States could make use of British facilities — including the base on Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands — to strike weapons storage sites and missile launch locations.
Trump nevertheless expressed frustration with the UK’s stance.
“He has not been helpful,” he said. “I never thought I’d see that. I never thought I’d see that from the UK. We love the UK.” He added: “It’s not going to matter, but [Starmer] should have helped… he should have.
“I mean, France has been great. They’ve all been great. The UK has been much different from others.”
Donald Trump Praises Allies While Criticising Keir Starmer
The US president continued by highlighting support from other partners, including France and the NATO leadership.
“You’ve seen the secretary general of NATO, the great things he said, Mark Rutte, he’s great. No, they’ve all been pretty much great other than…we think Keir’s was just very different.”
Trump suggested the disagreement marked a shift in ties between Washington and London, saying the dispute meant “it’s just a much different kind of relationship that we’ve had with your country before”.
Starmer Defends Decision In Commons
Responding earlier in Parliament, Starmer stood by the government’s position.
“President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest. That is what I have done, and I stand by it.”
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