US President Donald Trump has described British aircraft carriers as 'toys' in his latest attack on NATO allies over their lack of involvement in joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Speaking at the White House on Thursday, he claimed he told the UK: 'Don't bother, we don't need it.'
Trump alleged that he had requested two aircraft carriers from the UK, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially rejected and then offered to send after the war. Downing Street has denied that any request was made or denied. Starmer has said he would not permit UK bases to be used for offensive strikes against Iran, though defensive operations are allowed.
The UK has deployed the warship HMS Dragon to the eastern Mediterranean after an Iranian-made missile was launched from Lebanon at the UK's RAF base in Cyprus. Officials are also considering deploying a Royal Navy vessel to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where the closure is affecting global energy movements.
Trump also mocked the launch of an Iranian missile towards the US-UK base on Diego Garcia, part of the Chagos Islands, which the UK has agreed to hand over to Mauritius. He said Iran fired a missile 2,500 miles at 'the now famous island that the UK was very afraid to give us'.
Meanwhile, Starmer, speaking at the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit in Helsinki, warned that the West faces a 'war on two fronts' – Ukraine and Iran – and that the threat from Russia has grown. He confirmed the Ukrainian navy would join a JEF exercise for the first time.
