U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer for not actively providing British military bases during the strike on Iran. A rift appears to be widening between the two governments of the United States and the United Kingdom.

On the 3rd (local time), the British tabloid The Sun reported that, in a phone interview, President Trump said, “(The U.S.-U.K. relationship) was the strongest ever,” and, “Now we have very strong relationships with other European countries.” The Sun said Trump spoke to the effect that he had not imagined that the ‘special relationship’ between the United States and the United Kingdom, which he once believed to be the firmest, would be placed in such grave danger, and that the other countries he rated highly were France and Germany. The ‘special relationship’ is a phrase Winston Churchill used in 1946, just after World War II, to refer to ties between the two countries akin to a blood alliance.

Trump also said of Starmer, “He was not very helpful,” and, “I never thought I would see that. I really did not think I would see that in Britain. It is very sad that the relationship is clearly not what it used to be.”

Even before the strike on Iran, the United States wanted to use the Diego Garcia base in the Chagos Archipelago and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, but the Starmer government did not approve this, citing violations of international law. However, after the U.S. strike on Iran, it scrambled fighter jets for defensive operations against retaliation by Iran, and agreed to make British bases available for ‘defensive’ operations against the launch points of Iranian missiles. It opposed a U.S. preemptive attack on Iran and responded only to retaliatory airstrikes by Iran on other parts of the Middle East. Starmer also said in the House of Commons on the 2nd, “Our government does not believe in the possibility of regime change from the air (through airstrikes).”

Regarding the decision not to make British bases available for a preemptive strike, he explained, “We all remember the mistakes of the Iraq War.” The Labour government of Tony Blair decided to take part in the Iraq War after intense conflict over the alliance with its closest ally, the legitimacy under international law, and opposition inside the party and across the country.

Starmer made this choice amid a dilemma that the smooth relationship with the Trump administration, regarded as his greatest achievement since taking office, could be damaged, even as his centrist strategy has severely shaken his progressive support base and put him at risk. The BBC reported that, for now, Labour members of Parliament generally accept the judgment of Starmer, but he faces criticism from both the left and the right. The main opposition Conservative Party and the right-wing Reform UK argue that the government should have supported the United States and Israel far more explicitly.

On the 3rd, polling firm YouGov surveyed 4,132 British adults about the U.S. military operation against Iran and found that 49% opposed it and 28% supported it. In response to a question about the decision by the U.K. government to allow the United States to use Royal Air Force bases to strike Iranian missile bases, 50% opposed it and 32% supported it.