UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has consistently refrained from publicly criticising US President Donald Trump. However, the American president is now attacking the British prime minister for his unwillingness to support US-Israeli strikes on Iran. This disagreement is straining a relationship that Starmer has worked diligently to build and is further complicating trans-Atlantic ties that have already been weakened by Trump’s “America First“ foreign policy and his transactional approach to international relations.
“This was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe,“ Trump told British tabloid The Sun in an interview published Tuesday.
“I mean, France has been great. They’ve all been great,“ Trump said. “The UK has been much different from others.”
“It’s very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was,“ he said.
Keir Starmer initially prevented American planes from using British bases to launch attacks on Iran. However, he later agreed to allow the United States to utilise bases in England and on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to strike Iran’s ballistic missiles and their storage sites, though he prohibited attacks on other targets.
Despite the British base at Akrotiri in Cyprus being hit by an Iranian-made drone over the weekend, Starmer stated that the United Kingdom “will not join offensive action.” He announced on Tuesday that the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon, along with helicopters equipped with counter-drone capabilities, is being deployed to the region as part of “defensive operations.” The British leader has offered a rare, albeit implicit, criticism of the US president, stating on Monday that the UK government does not support “regime change from the skies.”
“Any UK actions must always have a lawful basis and a viable, thought-through plan,“ Starmer told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Monday.
“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,“ Starmer added.
The Financial Times described Starmer’s recent confrontation with Trump as his “Love Actually moment,“ a reference to a 2003 movie scene in which a British prime minister, played by Hugh Grant, stands up to a bullying US president. Tensions have been rising between the two leaders, especially after Starmer and other European leaders condemned Trump’s threat to take over Greenland. Trump has also criticised Britain’s decision to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, despite previously backing the move.
Peter Ricketts, a former UK Foreign Office head, stated that under Trump, the US has abandoned its commitment to international law—a principle important to Starmer, a barrister and former chief prosecutor.
This rift complicates Starmer’s efforts to build rapport with Trump since his return to office in 2025. During a recent state visit hosted by King Charles III, the UK government welcomed Trump, and Starmer has praised his attempts to broker peace in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The conflict with Iran has also divided European leaders. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte supported Trump’s actions against Iran, viewing them as essential for European security. In contrast, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemned the strikes, labelling them “unjustifiable.“
While some Britons doubt the US justification for war, right-leaning politicians criticised Starmer for not taking a stronger stance. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch affirmed her party’s backing of America’s actions against state-sponsored terrorism, while Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty insisted that the US-UK “special relationship” remains strong.
“Our relationship with the United States is strong,“ he said Tuesday in the House of Commons. “It has endured, it continues to endure, and it will endure into the future on both the economic and the security fronts.”
This article used information from The Associated Press.
