DONALD Trump has slammed the UK’s “very late response” after Starmer agreed to let the US use British bases to strike Iranian sites targeting a key shipping route.
The US President said the UK “should have acted a lot faster” in allowing America to use British bases after accusing NATO allies of cowardice over the deepening Strait of Hormuz crisis.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said: “It’s been a very late response from the UK.
“I’m surprised because the relationship is so good, but this has never happened before.
“They were really, pretty much our first ally, all over the world.”
The move by Sir Keir Starmer marks an escalation in UK involvement in the conflict.
The government previously only allowed their use to prevent Iran from firing missiles that put British lives and interests at risk.
Downing Street said ministers agreed that bases could now be used for “US defensive operations” to target “capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz”.
Iran has blitzed ships passing through the Strait and maintained an effective blockade over it for weeks now.
Earlier today, Trump branded his NATO allies “cowards” for failing to back his bid to re-open the blockaded Strait of Hormuz oil route to Western shipping.
Trump said on Truth Social: “Without the USA, NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!
“They didn’t want to join the fight to stop a Nuclear Powered Iran. Now that fight is Militarily WON, with very little danger for them,” Trump writes on Truth Social.
“They complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz.
“So easy for them to do, with so little risk. COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER.”
The Strait is a vital trade route and passage for around 20 per cent of the world’s oil.
The US President previously blasted Starmer as “no Winston Churchill” and said the PM had made a “big mistake” in not supporting the US in the Iran war.
A disappointed Trump said at the time that the alliance across the Atlantic was “always the best until Keir came along”.
Britain sent senior military officers to the US earlier this week to help draw up plans to reopen the strait.
Royal Navy ships are not expected to be deployed to the region to escort vessels through.
European nations including France and Germany said on Thursday they were ready to join “appropriate efforts” to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
On Friday, the President ruled dismissed any suggestion of a ceasefire agreement with Iran, insisting Washington had the upper-hand in the three-week war.
“I don’t want to do a ceasefire. You know you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side,” Trump told journalists at the White House.
Trump has also considered invading Iran’s Kharg Island to pressure Tehran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
