The relationship between the U.K. and the U.S., which once seemed strong, is breaking apart, with U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at odds during the escalating Iran war.

“The U.K. has been extremely uncooperative with that idiotic island they have,” Trump said during an event alongside visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday.

Trump was referring to the Chagos Islands, where the joint U.K.-U.S. airbase Diego Garcia is located. The U.K. now leases it after ceding the islands to Mauritius last year—a move Trump called an “.”

Starmer initially refused to let the U.S. military use the base to send defensive missiles to Iran. He reversed that decision on Sunday night, presenting it as the “best way to eliminate the urgent threat and prevent the situation from getting worse.”

But for Trump, the change of course came too late.

“It took us three or four days to figure out where we could land. It would have been much more convenient to land there instead of flying for many extra hours,” he said during Tuesday’s briefing.

“He ruins relationships. We are very surprised. This isn’t Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump added, criticizing Starmer’s leadership.

The remarks were yet another sign that the two leaders are no longer in agreement.

Starmer defended his position again in the House of Commons on Wednesday, stating that he’s not ready for the United Kingdom to join a war without a plan.

“We need to act with clarity, purpose, and a calm head. Protecting U.K. nationals is our top priority,” he said, highlighting that the U.K. has planes in the region intercepting incoming strikes.

When asked how his response might have damaged U.K.-U.S. relations, Starmer issued a defiant statement.

“American planes operating from British bases is the special relationship in action… clinging to President Trump’s latest words isn’t,” he said.

After launching the U.S.-Israeli military action over the weekend, which led to the, Trump made a series of comments to British media, attacking Starmer’s initial refusal to give access to U.K. bases.

“That’s probably never happened between our countries before… It seems like he was worried about the legality,” he said in one interview. “It’s very sad to see that the [U.K.-U.S.] relationship is clearly not what it used to be,” he said in another.

Meanwhile, the U.K. has maintained its stance of not joining offensive action against Iran and instead focused on strengthening defensive efforts after Iranian-made drones in Akrotiri, Cyprus.

Starmer has for the HMS Dragon warship to be deployed in the region to help defend British bases and partners. It has also participated in joint operations, including with Qatar, to intercept drones in the Gulf region.

The confirmed that Britain has shot down drones in Jordanian and Iraqi airspace.

Early signs of conflict in the U.K.-U.S. alliance

Signs of tension between Trump and Starmer began to emerge earlier this year regarding policies and approaches to geopolitical issues.

The U.S. President has repeatedly criticized the U.K.’s decision to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after a decades-long dispute, despite the State Department the move last year.

Starmer disagreed with Trump when the President threatened to impose tariffs on European allies until Denmark relents and sells the territory of Greenland—a position he quickly backed down on. Starmer called the threat “completely wrong” and said a trade war was “not in anyone’s interest.”

In late January, the two disagreed again after Trump targeted NATO allies, falsely claiming that troops from other countries “kept a bit back” from the frontlines during the war in Afghanistan.

Starmer called the comments “insulting and, frankly, appalling,” while paying tribute to the 457 British armed personnel who died during their service in Afghanistan.

Trump later seemed to retract his comments, that the soldiers of the U.K. “will always be with the United States” as the bond is “too strong to ever be broken.”

Before all this, Trump and Starmer seemed to have developed a growing working relationship.

In 2025, during his first visit to the White House after Trump’s inauguration, Starmer presented the President from King Charles III, inviting Trump to an historic second state visit to the U.K. The visit was a display of unity between the two leaders as they signed the Tech Prosperity Deal.

The two nations had earlier reached, lessening the impact of U.S.-imposed tariffs after Trump’s self-proclaimed “Liberation Day” announcement of global trade charges caused concern in April 2025.