From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
‘Not Churchill’: Trump ups criticism of Starmer over Iran strikes, says UK-US bond ‘not like it used to be’
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US President Donald Trump steps up his criticism of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for not initially permitting American warplanes to use UK bases to strike Iran, saying, “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
Trump says the historical relationship between the United States and Britain is “not like it used to be,” amid a diplomatic dispute over US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
“The UK has been very, very uncooperative,” he says while seated next to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.
“I’m not happy with the UK,” he adds. “It’s taken three, four days for us to work out where we can land.”
Starmer — who told parliament yesterday that his government “does not believe in regime change from the skies” — has drawn Trump’s wrath by initially refusing to have any role in Washington’s war with Iran.
Starmer later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a “specific and limited defensive purpose.”
But the episode angered Trump, who earlier told British daily tabloid The Sun, “This was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe”, singling out France and Germany.
The so-called special relationship between the World War II allies is largely built on long-standing defense cooperation and intelligence sharing.
Any potential military action in the Middle East, however, is politically sensitive in the UK following former UK prime minister Tony Blair’s disastrous support for the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Trump’s comments to the Sun came before Starmer announced earlier today that he was sending helicopters with counter-drone capabilities and the warship HMS Dragon to bolster Cyprus’ defenses, as part of its “defensive operations.”
The move came after a British Royal Air Force (RAF) base on the eastern Mediterranean island was attacked early yesterday by Iranian-made drones, one of which hit the runway, according to officials.
The Times of Israel Community.