Representatives for Johnson and Truss declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
‘Act of stupidity’
Trump’s position on the Chagos deal has flipped multiple times in recent weeks. He first came out against the “act of GREAT STUPIDITY” on Jan. 20, in what British officials believed was linked to Starmer criticizing his threats to seize Greenland.
After the PM led a diplomatic operation to get Trump back on board, the president conceded on Feb. 5 that it was the best deal Starmer could’ve made. But Trump unleashed his latest attack on the policy on his “Truth Social” platform on Feb. 18.
In the U.K., the Times reported that the backdrop was another trans-Atlantic rift over Trump’s request to allow American planes to use British bases to attack Iran in the event of any conflict, with Britain assessing such a move would be in breach of international law.
Trump’s latest Truth Social blast did link a possible use of Diego Garcia for an attack on Iran. He also appeared to get into greater detail on the specifics of the Chagos debate than before, including knowledge of the lease agreement for the Diego Garcia base and allusions to decisions made against Britain by international bodies in the long-running colonial dispute.
Former U.K. Conservative Leader Iain Duncan Smith held meetings in D.C. last week, including with White House and Department of Defense officials. Christopher Howarth, a former U.K. government adviser to the Conservatives who’s now with the Reform-linked Centre for a Better Britain think tank, also got time with the administration.