Under the arrangement, struck last year after months of negotiations, the joint U.S.-U.K. base will remain under the control of both countries for the next 99 years under a lease agreement.
But Trump posted Wednesday: “I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease with whoever it is that is ‘claiming’ Right, Title, and Interest to Diego Garcia, strategically located in the Indian Ocean.”
The Mauritian government — which has long claimed it was forced to give up the Chagos Islands to make way for the base in the 1960s — will receive payments from the U.K. for the new set-up, and gains ultimate sovereignty over the former British imperial possession.
While Trump on Wednesday nodded to a “strong and powerful” relationship with the U.K., he warned Starmer “is losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before.”
“In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature,” he added.
In an apparent warning that the U.S. could exert further pressure if tensions ramp up in the Middle East, Trump said: “Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in [England’s] Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime — An attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly Countries.”