US-UK relations tense as Trump highlights Starmer's stance

London – US President Donald Trump says he is ‘very sad’ to see US-UK relations ‘not like they used to be,’ British media reported on Tuesday (3 March). He said this after criticising British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was judged ‘too slow’ to allow the US to use British air bases to strike Iran. ‘This is a different world. Our relations with your country are very different from before. Very sad to see these relations clearly not as they were,’ Trump told The Sun in a telephone interview. Trump went on to contrast Starmer’s ‘unhelpful’ stance with the support from France and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for the strike. ‘I never thought I would get that from Britain. We love Britain,’ Trump said. On Monday, Starmer stated that Britain does not believe in ‘regime change from above’ — referring to the leadership change in Iran. He also defended his decision not to permit the use of British bases in the initial attack on Saturday. However, he said the situation changed on Sunday when Iran’s response, which he called ‘outrageous,’ became a threat to civilians and Britain’s allies. On the same day, a drone heading for a British base on Cyprus was intercepted. Starmer subsequently approved Washington’s request to use British military bases in a ‘defensive’ strike against the location of the Iranian missile launchers. Meanwhile, UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused the government of being ‘too afraid’ to take a tougher stand against Iran.