Trump warns UK not to "give away" key military base as US would need it for potential Iran attack
Washington DC - President Donald Trump, shifting his tone again, warned Britain on Wednesday not to "give away" a key Indian Ocean base, saying it would be vital if the US attacks Iran.
Trump, who is considering strikes on Iran's clerical state, spoke hours after the State Department again offered 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 U.K. and, if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our Great Ally," he wrote.
"We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them. DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!"
Trump's envoys on Tuesday held new negotiations with Iran, demanding that the clerical government -- which last month killed thousands of people in a crackdown on mass demonstrations – agree to major concessions on concerns starting with its nuclear program.
In his post, Trump suggested he was concerned about attacks emanating from the Iranian government, an arch-enemy of the US and Israel, which carried out a major bombing campaign on Iran in June.
"Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States 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 attack that would potentially be made on the UK, as well as other friendly Countries."
Britain had kept control of the Chagos Islands after Mauritius gained independence from Britain in the 1960s. Britain evicted thousands of people, who have since mounted legal challenges for compensation.
Trump said the claims by local people came from "entities never known of before" and were "fictitious in nature."
Cover photo: NATHAN HOWARD / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP