US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Britain is giving "serious thought" to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East, but added that the U.S. does not need them to win the war with Iran, in the latest clash between the military allies. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he ''will remember" the lack of British support during the conflict with Iran.
"The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East," Trump said. "That's OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don't need them any longer - But we will remember. We don't need people that join Wars after we've already won!" The social media post comes after the British Ministry of Defence said on Saturday it was preparing the Prince of Wales aircraft carrier for possible deployment.
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However, according to news agency Reuters, no final decision has been taken about whether to deploy the aircraft carrier to the Middle East, a British official said. Starmer has defended his decision not to allow U.S. forces to use British bases to support initial strikes on Iran, saying he needed to be satisfied that any military action was legal and well planned.
He later granted U.S. forces permission to use British bases for what he called defensive strikes against Iranian missiles in storage depots or launchers. Starmer earlier this year criticised Trump's desire to buy Greenland and said his comments that European troops avoided frontline combat in the war in Afghanistan were "frankly appalling."
The United States struck more than 3,000 targets during the first week of the Iran war, the US military said on Friday. Iran targeted Qatar with 10 drones, Doha's defence ministry said in a statement as the Islamic republic pressed its air campaign against Gulf states. The Israeli military announced that it has killed Hezbollah commander Zaid Ali Jumaa in Beirut. Lebanon was pulled into the rapidly escalating conflict after Iran -backed Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
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