Rachel Reeves has stepped up her criticism of Donald Trump\u2019s war on Iran, describing it as a \u201cmistake\u201d that has destabilised the global economy and damaged living standards around the world.<\/p>\n
In a marked fraying of the transatlantic relationship, the British chancellor said Trump breaking off from diplomatic talks with Iran and launching airstrikes seemed to have left the president in a worse place than he started.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was a mistake to end those [talks with Iran] and to enter into conflict, because I\u2019m not convinced that we are safer today than we were a few weeks ago,\u201d she told an event in Washington.<\/p>\n
Taking aim at the White House on the president\u2019s home turf, the chancellor\u2019s comments added to blunt criticism of him she made just before flying out on Tuesday, when she expressed frustration at the \u201cfolly\u201d of his decision to go to war<\/a> without a clear exit plan.<\/p>\n Speaking as she prepared to meet global finance ministers at this week\u2019s spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Reeves said the war had hit living standards in the UK and the US.<\/p>\n Calling for the urgent reopening of the strait of Hormuz to calm global energy prices, she told the CNBC Invest in America conference the lack of clear US targets in negotiations with Iran had worsened the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had the waterway open a few weeks ago. So, if now the objective is to reopen the strait of Hormuz? Well it was open at the beginning of this conflict,\u201d Reeves added.<\/p>\n In an escalation of pressure on the White House by one of the US\u2019s staunchest traditional allies, the chancellor said Trump\u2019s lack of clear goals had laid the foundations for a lengthy conflict without much progress to end Iran\u2019s nuclear ambitions.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t have a nuclear weapon today. And what do people think is the best way to stop that from happening? Is it through conflict or is it through diplomacy? And I believe it is through diplomacy,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was a diplomatic channel open. The discussions, formal discussions, were happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Reeves said she had come to the IMF meetings to \u201cdeliver that fair message\u201d that the conflict in the Middle East was hitting living standards worldwide and required urgent de-escalation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel very strongly in our national interest that de-escalation is now the key priority,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what businesses and families are telling me back home and that\u2019s the message I\u2019m coming here to Washington to give this week.\u201d<\/p>\n The criticism adds to an increasingly tense atmosphere between Downing Street and the White House. After a strategy of Keir Starmer seeking to mollify the president, which was credited for the UK securing the first US trade deal to mitigate swingeing tariffs<\/a>, relations have soured over the prime minister\u2019s decision not to join in offensive actions against Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s attacks on Starmer have become increasingly personal<\/a>, and Wednesday he threatened to rip up the bilateral deal, warning it could \u201calways be changed\u201d<\/a>. He also posted<\/a> a link on his Truth Social platform to a Sun article attacking Starmer for spouting \u201chot air\u201d on the UK\u2019s defence spending commitments.<\/p>\n The prime minister hit back on Wednesday, telling MPs he was \u201cnot going to yield\u201d to Trump\u2019s trade pressure, saying such threats would not affect his stance on the Iran war.<\/p>\n Despite the fraying of the special relationship, Reeves claimed the UK remained on good terms as she prepared to hold talks with her US counterpart, Scott Bessent. The US Treasury secretary had suggested on Tuesday that the economic damage from the Iran war was a \u201cbit of pain\u201d worth the long-term security.<\/p>\n \u201cFriends are allowed to disagree on things,\u201d Reeves said. \u201cWhen you are friends you can speak your truth and deliver that fair message,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The IMF warned on Tuesday that a further escalation in the Iran war could trigger a global recession<\/a> that would affect the UK more than any of the other G7 nations.<\/p>\n