Trump warns UK not to ‘give away’ a key base as US mulls Iran attack

An undated file photo shows Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago and site of a major US military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean leased from Britain in 1966. HANDOUT . / REUTERS

President Donald Trump warned Britain on Wednesday, February 18, not to “give away” a key Indian Ocean base, saying it would be vital if the United States attacks Iran.

Trump, who is considering strikes on the Islamic Republic, lashed out hours after the State Department offered the latest US support to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s deal to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Under the agreement, Britain would instead pay to lease the strategic joint US-UK base at Diego Garcia for a century.

“Prime Minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100 Year Lease,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “This land should not be taken away from the UK and, if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our Great Ally.”

“We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the UK, but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism and other problems put before them. DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!”

Read more Subscribers only Trump ramps up pressure on Iran by deploying aircraft carrier and threatening strikes

Britain had kept control of the Chagos Islands after Mauritius gained independence in the 1960s from British colonization. Britain evicted thousands of people, who have since mounted legal challenges for compensation.

Trump said the claims by people from the Chagos Islands were “fictitious in nature.”

In response to Trump, a spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign Office said that the deal secured the UK-US base and was “crucial to the security of the UK and our key allies.”

“The agreement we have reached is the only way to guarantee the long-term future of this vital military base,” the spokesperson said.

Eye on Iran

Trump’s latest flip appears to come as he considers an attack on Iran, where authorities last month killed thousands of people in a crackdown on mass demonstrations.

Trump’s envoys on Tuesday held new negotiations with Iran’s top diplomat in Geneva and pressed for major concessions, starting with Tehran’s nuclear program.

Read more Subscribers only Iran nuclear talks: Fragile resumption of discussions between Washington and Tehran

The US joined Israel in its bombing campaign of Iran in June, striking nuclear facilities as its ally carried out a much broader offensive.

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“Should Iran decide not to make a deal, it may be necessary for the US to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime,” Trump said, referring to a US air base in England.

He said he was concerned by an “an attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly Countries.”

‘Great stupidity’

Just Tuesday, the State Department announced three days of talks next week with Mauritius on maintaining the Diego Garcia base.

In its statement, the State Department said: “The United States supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago.”

Asked which statement to believe, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the social media post came directly from Trump and “should be taken as the policy of the Trump administration.”

When Starmer’s Labour government first reached the deal last year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio quickly hailed it as “historic.”

Trump then called it an “act of GREAT STUPIDITY” that showed why the US needed to conquer Greenland from ally Denmark. Trump later said he accepted the deal after speaking to Starmer, a position on which he now appears to have backtracked.

Le Monde with AFP