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President Donald Trump on Saturday criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying he was joining the war in Iran after the U.S. has “already won.”
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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!”
Trump’s statement came after the U.K. Ministry of Defense said that one of the country’s two aircraft carriers had been placed on advanced readiness in Portsmouth, England, for a possible mobilization to the Middle East, according to the BBC.
A British destroyer, HMS Dragon, is also in Portsmouth, waiting to leave for Cyprus after delays.
President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was joining the war in Iran after the U.S. has “already won.” (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Starmer said that while the U.K. wasn’t involved in the strikes, they are “operating defensively in the region.”
In an address to the British people on Sunday, Starmer condemned “indiscriminate” attacks by Iran following the U.S. strikes, adding, “the only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at source.”
TRUMP SLAMS STARMER AS ‘NOT WINSTON CHURCHILL’ FOR REFUSAL TO BACK IRAN STRIKES
He added that Britain has agreed to the United States’ request to use British bases for that “limited” purpose.
After the strikes, Trump told the Telegraph in the U.K. that he was “very disappointed” in Starmer, claiming it “took far too long” for the prime minister to allow the U.S. to use British bases in the region.
British fighter jets are also flying over Jordan, Cyprus and Qatar to strengthen defense in the region, and a Merlin helicopter is on the way for additional airborne surveillance, according to the Ministry of Defense.
Keir Starmer explains the situation in the Middle East to the British people this week. (Tolga Akmen/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“While the region has been plunged into chaos, my focus is providing calm, levelheaded leadership in the national interest,” Starmer said this week. “That means deploying our military and diplomatic strength to protect our people. And it means having the strength to stand firm by our values and our principles, no matter the pressure to do otherwise. The longstanding British position is that the best way forward for the regime and world is a negotiated settlement with Iran where they give up their nuclear ambitions.”
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Smoke rises in Tehran, Iran, after explosions were reported in the city on March 2. (Contributor/Getty Images)
He said that’s why he made the decision that the U.K. would not join the initial coordinated strikes launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28.
In Parliament this week, Starmer added, “We all remember the mistakes of Iraq, and we have learned those lessons. Any U.K. actions must always have a lawful basis, and a viable, thought-through plan,” Starmer said. “This government does not believe in regime change from the skies.”
Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss reposted Trump’s Saturday Truth Social comments on X, writing, “Justified and damning.”
Digital has reached out to Starmer’s office for comment.
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