US President Donald Trump has said that “two aircraft carriers” from Britain are not needed “any longer” to aid his war in the Middle East — his latest critique of London’s stance.
“The United Kingdom is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East. That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer,” Trump posted to his Truth Social account on Saturday.
“But we will remember,” he said. “We don’t need people who join Wars after we’ve already won!”
Trump posted the message shortly after attending the return of the first six US service members killed in the Middle East war, at Dover Air Force Base in the northeastern state of Delaware.
British media reports say the Royal Navy is preparing the HMS Prince Wales, an aircraft carrier currently at Portsmouth in southern England, for possible deployment to the Middle East, but no final decision has been made.
Trump has said he is “not happy with the UK,” mocking Starmer by saying, “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
Starmer initially refused to have any role in the US-Israeli war with Iran, which started a week ago, on February 28.
Starmer later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a “specific and limited defensive purpose.”
Also, Trump stated that he did not want the Kurds to launch an offensive against Iran.
“We’re not looking to the Kurds going in,” he told reporters in a briefing aboard Air Force One. “We’re very friendly with the Kurds, as you know, but we don’t want to make the war any more complex than it already is.”
Trump had told Reuters news agency on Thursday that he would be “all for” an offensive by Iranian Kurdish fighters in support of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.
AFP