The US president has labeled the UK prime minister “no Winston Churchill” after he refused to join the war on Iran
Ties within Western blocs are becoming increasingly strained, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has admitted, after he sparred with US President Donald Trump over the Iran war on several occasions.
Starmer made the remarks at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Yerevan, Armenia, on Monday, saying that “there is more tension in the alliances than there should be and it’s very important that we therefore face up to this as a group of countries together.”
While Starmer did not single out the reason for growing friction, the remarks come against the backdrop of a rapidly souring relationship with the White House. In early March, Trump declared that the US-UK “special relationship” was “obviously not what it was” and branded Starmer “no Winston Churchill” after London refused to join the US-led war on Iran.
Starmer, meanwhile, indicated that he was “fed up” with rising consumer and oil prices triggered in part by the Iran war.
Trump also fumed over Starmer’s January trip to Beijing – the first such visit by a British prime minister in eight years, and which resulted in a series of trade agreements – with the US leader branding it “very dangerous.”
Despite the apparent tensions, Starmer called on European partners to increase their military spending inside NATO, echoing an argument long made by Trump. “I feel very strongly that the European countries now need to step up and do more on defense and security to have a stronger European element of NATO,” he said, insisting that the UK continues to work “very closely with the US on all issues to do with defense and security.”
Starmer also said it is in the UK’s “national interest to be closer to Europe,” while declining to comment on a Times report that the EU has demanded £1 billion ($1.35 billion) a year in financial contributions in exchange for a wider trade deal.
The report, however, triggered a backlash at home, with Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel accusing Starmer of “unpicking Brexit and planning another undemocratic hit job on British taxpayers.”