UK Balks on Iran Strikes, Trump Fires Back Over Diego Garcia

Britain has blocked the United States from using its RAF bases for potential strikes on Iran just as Washington signals that military action remains a real possibility. This is not a routine basing dispute. It is a visible divergence between Washington and London at a moment when deterrence depends on unity. The disagreement has now spilled directly into the sovereignty fight over Diego Garcia.

 Under long-standing arrangements, RAF bases in Britain cannot be used for military operations against third countries without the British government's advance approval.

Reports indicate that London withheld that consent as U.S. contingency planning involving Iran intensified.

President Trump responded by escalating in full view of the alliance:

“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. An attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly Countries. 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!”

That is not routine coordination. It is a public warning.

The British posture has been described in far cooler terms. A report indicates that the UK is “unlikely to support any pre-emptive military strike on Iran,” reflecting concerns raised by government lawyers about legal exposure.

The same report explains that participation in such an operation could carry consequences under international law:

“The UK could be held responsible for an illegal attack on Iran by the US under a UN edict passed in 2001, if it had knowledge of the circumstances of the internationally wrongful act.”

That is the dividing line. Washington is signaling deterrence. London is signaling caution.

Now add the Chagos deal, and the tension stops being procedural and becomes strategic.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is attempting to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing back Diego Garcia under a 99-year agreement reportedly worth tens of billions of pounds.

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The move is framed as resolving a colonial dispute. In Westminster, it has ignited backlash over sovereignty, cost, and long-term control of a critical military outpost.

Trump has tied the sovereignty fight directly to strength and leverage. In criticizing the arrangement, he warned:

“Prime Minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100-year lease. This land should not be taken away from the UK and, if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our great ally.”

Diego Garcia anchors American long-range strike capability across the Middle East and into Asia. The same island that London is restructuring politically is the one Washington may need operationally.

Put plainly, the United States is preparing for potential confrontation with Iran. Britain is placing legal guardrails around how its territory can be used. At the same time, London is renegotiating sovereignty over the very asset that underpins U.S. power projection in the Indian Ocean.

Five Eyes cooperation rests on predictability. When escalation looms, allied infrastructure is expected to be available. If that expectation erodes, planning shifts. And when planning shifts, alliance leverage shifts with it.

This was not a quiet policy disagreement. It was a public divergence during a live escalation scenario. If Britain signals that basing access is conditional when conflict planning intensifies, Washington will adjust its assumptions. And once those assumptions change, the alliance does too.