War with Iran strains the US-UK relationship as Starmer and Trump disagree

LONDON (AP) 鈥� has never had a bad word to say in public about .

That is not being reciprocated now as the American president lambasts the British prime minister over his reluctance to join the U.S.-Israeli .

鈥淭his is not Winston Churchill that we鈥檙e dealing with,鈥� Trump said Tuesday at the White House, blasting Britain’s reluctance to let U.S. warplanes use its bases.

The dispute is roiling a relationship that Starmer worked hard to forge, and further straining trans-Atlantic ties frayed by Trump鈥檚鈥淎merica first鈥� foreign policy and transactional approach to international relations.

Britain is in Trump’s bad books

鈥淭his was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe,鈥� Trump told British tabloid The Sun in an interview published Tuesday.

鈥淚 mean, France has been great. They鈥檝e all been great,” Trump said. 鈥淭he U.K. has been much different from others.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was,鈥� he said.

Starmer initially blocked American planes from using British bases for the attacks on Iran that started on Saturday. He later agreed to let the United States use bases in England and on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to strike Iran鈥檚 ballistic missiles and their storage sites, but not to hit other targets.

Even after the was hit by an Iran-made drone over the weekend, Starmer said that the United Kingdom 鈥渨ill not join offensive action.鈥� He said Tuesday that a Royal Navy destroyer, HMS Dragon, and Wildcat helicopters with counter-drone capabilities were being sent to the region as part of 鈥渄efensive operations.鈥� British forces have also shot down drones in Jordanian and Iraqi airspace, the government said.

Starmer has offered a rare, though implicit, rebuke of the U.S. president, saying Monday that the U.K. government doesn’t believe in 鈥渞egime change from the skies.鈥�

鈥淎ny U.K. actions must always have a lawful basis and a viable, thought-through plan,鈥� Starmer told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Monday.

鈥淧resident Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain鈥檚 national interest,鈥� Starmer added.

The Financial Times called it Starmer鈥檚鈥淟ove Actually moment鈥� 鈥� a reference to the 2003 movie scene in which a British prime minister played by Hugh Grant stands up to a bullying U.S. president played by Billy Bob Thornton.

Friction has grown over Greenland and Diego Garcia

Friction between the two leaders has been building for months. Trump鈥檚 was denounced by Starmer and other European leaders earlier this year. Recently, Trump has condemned Britain鈥檚 , home to the Diego Garcia base, to Mauritius, despite his administration earlier backing the deal.

Peter Ricketts, a former head of the U.K. Foreign Office, told The Observer newspaper that under Trump, 鈥渢he Americans have effectively given up on any effort to be consistent with international law.鈥�

That is a red line for the law-abiding Starmer, a barrister and former chief prosecutor for England and Wales.

The spat is a setback for Starmer鈥檚 since the president’s return to office in 2025. The British government rolled out the red carpet to the president for as the guest of King Charles III, and Starmer consistently has praised Trump’s efforts 鈥� so far unsuccessful 鈥� to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The Iran war has also divided European leaders, who fall along a spectrum from condemnation to support.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that he unreservedly approves of Trump鈥檚 decision to attack Iran and kill its supreme leader, and called the war crucial for Europe鈥檚 security.

The U.K., France and Germany jointly said that they weren’t involved in the strikes, but were prepared to enable 鈥渘ecessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran鈥檚 capability to fire missiles and drones at their source.鈥�

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S谩nchez condemned the strikes as 鈥渦njustifiable鈥� and 鈥渄angerous.鈥�

Polling suggests many Britons are skeptical of the U.S. justification for war. But politicians to the right of Starmer鈥檚 Labour Party slammed the prime minister for not joining the offensive. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said that her party 鈥渟tands behind America taking this necessary action against state-sponsored terror.鈥�

Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty denied the U.S.-U.K. 鈥渟pecial relationship鈥� was on the ropes.

鈥淥ur relationship with the United States is strong,鈥� he said Tuesday in the House of Commons. 鈥淚t has endured, it continues to endure, and it will endure into the future on both the economic and the security fronts.鈥�