Donald Trump Says He Is “Not Happy” With Keir Starmer for Refusing to Join the War on Iran Saying UK Should “Enthusiastically” Help US Clear Strait of Hormuz
Donald Trump has said today he is “not happy” with Keir Starmer and “very surprised” over his refusal to support the attack on Iran and efforts to clear the Strait of Hormuz, saying he should be “enthusiastic” to help. The Mail has more.
In his latest broadside at Keir Starmer the US President said Britain “should be involved enthusiastically” with helping reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers.
He suggested countries involved in protecting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz would face “very few shots” from Iran, hours after the former had of the UK’s armed forces said it was possible Royal Navy vessels could be sunk.
The President said that when he spoke to Starmer yesterday he admonished the Prime Minister for speaking to aides before making a decision on whether to send warships to the region.
Earlier today Sir Keir insisted the UK will not be drawn into a “wider war” in the Middle East today as he knocked back the plea for warships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Giving a press conference in Downing Street, the PM insisted he wanted to see “an end to this war as quickly as possible”.
But facing the media this afternoon Trump said: “I was very surprised with the United Kingdom, because United Kingdom two weeks ago, I said, why don’t you send some ships over? And he (Starmer) really didn’t want to do it,” Trump said.
“I said, you don’t want to do it? We’ve been with you. You’re our oldest ally, and we spend a lot of money on, you know, Nato and all of these things to protect you.
“We’re protecting them. We’re working with them on Ukraine. Ukraine’s thousands of miles away, separated by a vast ocean…
“We don’t need to work with them in Ukraine, and then they tell us that we have a mine ship around and they don’t want to do it.”
He added: “I think it’s terrible. I was very surprised.”
Sir Keir said he was willing to be part of a “viable collective plan” for the Strait, but said no decisions had been taken and suggested the UK is only looking at deploying anti-mine drones. “This is not easy. It’s not straightforward,” he said.
The premier had a tense call with the President last night, in which he is believed to have signalled Britain will not deploy warships to the Strait. France, Canada, Germany and Australia have also dismissed the prospect.
Around a fifth of global oil supplies pass through the channel, but it has been effectively closed by Iran – sending prices soaring and raising fears of a worldwide recession.
Trump upped the ante overnight by linking the response to his demand for ships in the Strait to the future of Nato and support for Ukraine.
Today he suggested countries involved in protecting shipping off Hormuz would face “very few shots” from Iran.
Criticising nations that failed to support the US, he said: “The level of enthusiasm matters to me. We have some countries where we have 45,000 soldiers, great soldiers, protecting them from harm’s way. And we have done a great job.
“And when we want to know ‘do you have any minesweepers?’, well ‘we’d rather not get involved, sir’.
“You mean for 40 years we are protecting you and you don’t want to get involved in something that is very minor, very few shots are going to be taken because they don’t have many shots left.
“But they said ‘we’d rather not get involved’.”
Worth reading in full.
Trump said that, while he expected Britain to be “involved” in some capacity, he was “not happy” with Sir Keir Starmer.
Asked about which allies would support the US’s mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, he told reporters at the White House: “I told him [Sir Keir], you know, we requested two aircraft carriers, which they had, and he didn’t really want to do it.
“And then right after the war essentially ended, meaning they [Iran] were obliterated, he said, ‘I would like to send the aircraft carriers’.
“I said, ‘I don’t need them after the war has ended and won. I need it before the war’.
“So I was not happy with the UK, [but] I think they’ll be involved [with the Strait of Hormuz]. Yeah, maybe, but they should be involved enthusiastically.”
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Trump sarcastically says he doesn’t need our help after the war has ended and won, he needs it before the war. Notwithstanding that he ignorantly insulted the British and other allied soldiers in Afghanistan, my mind is cast back to the 1914-18 WW1 and the 1939-45 WW2. Were the Americans not a little late for these two wars? For them WW1 was the April 1917 – 1918 war of 19 months, and WW2 was essentially 1942-45 (I know they entered in December 1941).
I cast no aspersions on the brave men and women from the USA who did their duty in thgese wars but their current president needs a history lesson and a strong dose of humility. Alas, I know I am asking for the impossible.
Also a bit like Suez maybe, but nobody could possibly have ever foreseen a problem with the Straits.
US/Israel particularly Zionists/Neocons bitten off more than thay can chew. Must be the same level of military genius that said Russia would esily be defeated by cannon fodder from Ukraine (with more than a little help from NATO).
Word is that a few days ago Trump phoned Putin – ” Hi there Vlad, sorry I tried to kill you with those drones a couple of weeks ago, nothing personal, but can you offer any help”….
They easily have not got involved on either I or II.
They will have had their reasons for doing so but it is undoubtedly true that without them it would have been somewhat more complicated.
Fast forward to today,and we can’t do anything even if starmer’s preferred constituency would allow him to, because we don’t have any sodding ships ready to sail.
Absolute dereliction of duty by somebody.
Should also be noted that Germany declared war on the USA not the other way round.
If you’re not for the USA you’re for Iran. We are where we are and nothing can change that. Without money little can be achieved and most of Europe is skint, arrogant and delusional. Stick with the winner.
“This is not easy. It’s not straightforward,” [Starmer] said.
That’s right, pal, you’re the lad who did OK at his A Levels but is rapidly discovering that the world isn’t like school and that you are a crap headmaster anyway.
What is that strange noise? Maybe the sound of chickens returning to the roost?
‘For the RN, the MHC programme forms part of a broader decision not to replace Hunt and Sandown-class vessels with new crewed minehunters, a high-stakes choice made years before autonomy had fully matured. HMS Stirling Castle is the first of four motherships the RN intends to procure. The French are building six smaller motherships, but to full warship standards’
The PM is, not for the first time, being economical etc etc.
We have been caught out by a major international conflagration occurring whilst this country has run down its armed services and their capabilities to a derisory level: one emergency sustained deployment brigade, one (not really) emergency deployment ship and a handful of fighter aircraft, helicopters.
We aren’t being much help because, quite simply, we cannot help. Successive incompetent British governments have unilaterally disarmed and they have been found out, exposed for what they are.
Britain now has its foreign and domestic policy dictated from overseas.
Pathetic! What an absolute disgrace!
Sadly this is spot on.
Half of our navy is undergoing repairs/refits. Half of deployment ready ships are on their way to Cyprus. We can’t risk the other half being sunk and not being able to pretend we’re still a major naval power by sending a token ship to take part in NATO exercises.
He’s not happy ,try living here.
Starmer is less interested in supporting the US, and more interested in appeasing his Muslim voters. He’s also scared of Ed Miliband, who doesn’t want a war, and will be quite happy to see oil supplies dry up because he thinks it will strengthen his net zero argument.