President Donald Trump has told the UK’s Daily Telegraph he was “very disappointed” with Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s initial refusal to let Washington use British military bases in its war against Iran, AFP reports.

Trump told The Daily in an exclusive interview that Starmer’s initial refusal over the use of the Indian Ocean Chagos Islands base was unlike anything that had “happened between our countries before”, adding: “It took far too much time. Far too much time.”

Starmer later relented, saying he had agreed to British bases being used for “specific and limited defensive purpose”.

US President Donald Trump attends an event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on September 2, 2025. — Reuters/File Photo
US President Donald Trump attends an event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on September 2, 2025. — Reuters/File Photo

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