President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United Kingdom was "giving serious thought" to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East, but he added that the United States did not require that support to win its war with Iran. The remarks, posted on the social media platform Truth Social, intensified an ongoing public dispute between the two allied governments.
In his post, Trump said he "will remember" London’s earlier refusal to allow U.S. forces to use British bases for initial attacks on Iran. He criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and suggested the episode had harmed the long-standing relationship between the two countries.
"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 wrote. "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 president’s post followed an announcement from the British Ministry of Defence that it was preparing the aircraft carrier Prince of Wales for possible deployment. A British official, however, cautioned that no final decision had been reached on whether to send the carrier to the Middle East.
Prime Minister Starmer has defended his initial choice not to allow U.S. forces to use British bases to support early strikes on Iran. He said he needed to be satisfied that any military action would be legal and well planned before granting access.
At a later stage, Starmer did give permission for U.S. forces to use British bases for what he described as defensive strikes targeting Iranian missiles in storage depots or launchers.
The public exchange adds to prior criticisms exchanged between Starmer and Trump. Earlier this year, Starmer criticized Trump’s comments about acquiring Greenland and described the president’s assertion that some European troops had avoided frontline combat in Afghanistan as "frankly appalling."
Contextual note: The article includes a separate section that asked about investment opportunities for 2026 and promoted a data-driven investment service. That promotional passage emphasized the value of institutional-grade data and AI-supported insights for identifying potential investments, and invited readers to consider the best investment opportunities of 2026.