Buenos Aires, Argentina - Argentinian President Javier Milei on Thursday said that "winds of change" favor his country's claim to the Falkland Islands, triggering outrage from 10 Downing Street.

"There are winds of change in the world that are favorable to our claim," Milei said in a nationally televised address about the South Atlantic archipelago on Thursday.

The Falkland Islands are a British overseas territory. In 1982, the UK and Argentina fought a 74-day war over the islands after Buenos Aires invaded on April 2. A little over 900 people were killed in the conflict, which has left a lingering stain on UK-Argentine relations.

Control of the islands, referred to by Argentines as Las Malvinas, remains a highly emotive issue in Argentina and continues to create tensions with London.

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During the World Cup 2026 semifinal earlier this year, Argentina players held up a banner saying "The Falklands are Argentine" after beating England 2–1, sparking outrage.

The fate of the islands has hit the headlines again in recent days, President Donald Trump threatening to wade into the dispute and a British-Israeli oil project near the islands causing anger in Argentina.

Flanked by cabinet members, Milei assured Argentina that his government would not "stand idly by," announcing tougher sanctions on firms linked to Falklands oil projects.

Milei said the British-Israeli project violated a UN resolution calling on both sides to desist from unilateral actions in the Falklands while the dispute is ongoing.

"We will not allow it," he said. "If we allow it, we will be creating an incentive for the British government to deepen the occupation of the islands and the exploitation of our resources."

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government insisted on Friday that the Falkland Islands "are British," pushing back against Milei's "winds of change" speech.

"The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British," British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting responded in a social media post on Friday.

"Milei's statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands," he wrote. "Our commitment to the Falklands is absolute and unshakable."