Trump unhappy with Starmer again over lack of help in war against Iran

US President Donald Trump said on 16 March that he is "not happy" with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for initially declining to send military equipment to the Middle East when the US-Israeli operation against Iran began.

Source: European Pravda with reference to CNN

Details: Describing the United Kingdom as his country's "oldest ally", Trump noted that the United States had spent "a lot of money" on NATO and on protecting Ukraine from Russia.

He added that he thinks this is "terrible" and he is "not happy with the UK".

"I was very surprised with the United Kingdom because the United Kingdom, two weeks ago, I said, 'Why don't you send some ships over?' And he really didn't want to do it," Trump told journalists.

Trump said Starmer told him yesterday that he planned to meet his team to decide whether to join efforts to ensure the security of the Strait of Hormuz.

Quote from Trump: "I said, 'You don't need to meet up with the team. You're the prime minister. You can make your own – why do you have to meet with your team to find out whether or not you're going to send some minesweepers to us or to send some boats?' I said, 'You don't have to meet with your team.'"

Background:

• On 7 March, Trump criticised the UK for being slow to make decisions, claiming that the United States and Israel had almost won the war against Iran. He was commenting on the UK's decision to prepare the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales for deployment to the Middle East.
• Before the start of the US operation against Iran, the UK had initially refused to allow Washington to carry out strikes from bases such as Diego Garcia and Fairford, citing international law. However, Prime Minister Keir Starmer later relented and said he would grant the US access to Diego Garcia for "that specific and limited defensive purpose".

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