Donald Trump is a \u201cvery transactional\u201d president, whose repeated demands on Iran must be seen in this context, one of Keir Starmer\u2019s most senior ministers has said in an unusually blunt UK assessment of relations between the countries.<\/p>\n
Asked about the US president\u2019s threats of some sort of retaliation against allies who do not supply ships to try to free up the strait of Hormuz, Pat McFadden<\/a>, the work and pensions secretary, said the UK was not obliged to agree to every US request.<\/p>\n After Trump again criticised the UK for a perceived lack of enthusiasm in helping the US-Israeli war against Iran, McFadden said it was important to separate the US president\u2019s \u201crhetoric\u201d from the more important issues.<\/p>\n In an overnight interview with the Financial Times<\/a>, Trump reiterated his frustration at the UK for not sending ships to the strait of Hormuz, the vital sea freight passage that has been all but closed by Iranian retaliatory attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIf there\u2019s no response or if it\u2019s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of Nato<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if he believed Trump might reduce support for Nato if other members did not do as he demanded with Iran, McFadden told Sky News: \u201cWell, that\u2019s the president right there. The quote that you\u2019ve just given has summed him up.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very transactional presidency, and our job is to navigate this, to always remember that the friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom runs very deep. It\u2019s a good relationship. It\u2019s enduring, and I think it will outlast all the personalities involved.\u201d<\/p>\n