US President Donald Trump threatened to revise the US-UK trade deal after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused to support the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the latest sign of a widening rift between Washington and its closest allies over the Iran war.
In a phone interview with Sky News, Trump said the agreement struck with Starmer last year was open to revision. “We gave them a good trade deal. Better than I had to. Which can always be changed.”
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer held firm: “We’re not going to get dragged into this war. It is not our war. I’m not going to change my mind. I’m not going to yield. It is not in our national interest to join this war, and we will not do so.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — one of Trump’s closest European allies — refused his request to join a naval coalition at the strait and denied US bombers access to a military base in southern Italy. Trump told Corriere della Sera he was “shocked.” “I thought she had courage. I was wrong,” he said.
Australia confirmed it had not been asked to participate and would not send navy ships, with Transport Minister Catherine King saying the blockade puts global trade in a “very difficult” position.
Related: Hormuz Blockade: ‘Other Countries Will Be Involved’, But Zero Have Confirmed
France, Germany, Turkey, and other NATO members declined to join as well, saying they would not be drawn into the conflict. France and Britain are instead co-organizing the “Initiative for Maritime Navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” a multinational mission to restore safe passage once hostilities end.
French President Emmanuel Macron said it would be “strictly defensive, distinct from the belligerents.” Several European countries also denied US military aircraft access to their airspace for strikes on Iran earlier in the conflict.
Trump said the tensions would not affect King Charles III’s planned state visit to Washington later this month. “Not at all. I’ve known the King for a long time, and he’s not involved in that process.”
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