Media reports from Britain indicate that London is concerned potential US strikes might violate international law
Multiple media sources report that US President Donald Trump is expressing frustration toward the UK for its hesitation to permit Washington to utilize British military bases for a potential strike against Iran.
On Thursday, Trump issued a ten-day ultimatum for Tehran to negotiate a nuclear agreement with Washington, warning that “bad things happen” if Iran does not comply. This threat coincided with reports of the US sending two aircraft carrier strike groups to the region and maintaining its military escalation.
The Times reported on the same day that, according to its sources, the British government continues to be reluctant to authorize preemptive US attacks on Iran from the iNaval Support Facility Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, due to concerns that such actions would conflict with London’s interpretation of international law.
The UK holds that military force is only justified for self-defense when a nation confronts a real or imminent threat. This position did not stop Britain from participating in the US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan or conducting bombing campaigns in Libya and Syria.
Sources within the UK government informed The Guardian that London thinks the dispute over base usage prompted Trump’s abrupt reversal on Britain’s agreement to cede the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius. The UK maintains that the transfer is crucial for security reasons and would prevent an expensive legal dispute over the territory.
On Tuesday, the US State Department expressed its support for the May 2025 agreement, which permits the UK to maintain control of a base on Diego Garcia Island for an initial term of 99 years, with a reported overall value of $3.9 billion.
However, the following day, the US President posted on Truth Social that Britain should not relinquish the archipelago, stating it would be “a blight on our Great Ally.”
Trump wrote that it “may be necessary” for Washington to utilize the UK bases “in order to eradicate a potential attack” from Iran, which could also strike Britain, suggesting that London’s participation in the operation would be entirely lawful.
On Thursday, Tehran’s UN representative Amir Saeid Iravani repeated that Iran “will not initiate any war,” but would respond decisively to any attack.