US President Donald Trump has claimed that King Charles III agrees with him that Iran should never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. The remarks came during a White House state dinner on Tuesday, following bilateral talks between the two leaders earlier that day. As head of state, the King is expected to remain politically neutral, and Trump's comments are likely to embarrass royal aides by appearing to expose the monarch's private views.
In his speech at the white-tie event, Trump said: 'We're doing a little Middle East work right now … and we're doing very well. We have militarily defeated that particular opponent, and we're never going to let that opponent ever, Charles agrees with me even more than I do, we're never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.' Trump has a history of attributing opinions to private conversations that later conflict with the individuals' stated views.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson responded: 'The king is naturally mindful of his government’s longstanding and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation.' The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, had earlier called for the state visit to be cancelled, warning that Trump might embarrass the monarch.
During his address to Congress, the King made no direct mention of Iran but stressed the importance of Nato and continued support for Ukraine. His speech appeared to echo his mother Queen Elizabeth II's 1957 visit, which aimed to repair US-UK relations after the Suez crisis. Charles told dinner guests: 'And yes, we have had our moments of difficulty, even in more recent history. When my mother visited in 1957, not the least of her tasks was to help put the ‘special’ back into our relationship after a crisis in the Middle East.'
The visit proceeds against a backdrop of tensions between Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the Iran war. Trump has criticised Starmer's approach, calling it 'terrible' and describing him as 'no Winston Churchill'. On Wednesday, Charles and Camilla will mark the upcoming 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks by laying flowers at a memorial pool in New York.
