Tensions between US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the war in Iran are starting to create cracks in security cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom, the Financial Times reports.
According to sources familiar with the situation, Trump's public criticism of Starmer — whom he has mocked by saying that he is "not Winston Churchill" and that he tries to "join wars after we have won them" — has also created a cold climate in relations between diplomats, officials and military personnel of the two countries.
One of the first signs of this tension is the fact that some American officials assigned to British government departments are being excluded from meetings when sensitive information is discussed, something that did not previously happen.
Also, according to sources in Washington, Britain is taking longer to approve US requests for the use of British military bases, such as RAF Fairford air base in Gloucestershire. In the past, such requests were approved almost automatically, but now the procedures have become more complicated.
A particular point of tension has been Starmer's reluctance to allow the US to use British bases for initial strikes against Iran. According to a former senior British official, this has made the British prime minister among the European leaders Trump has most strongly criticized on the Iran issue.
However, British officials insist that the UK's security policy has not changed. According to them, any US operation requiring the use of bases on British territory is considered on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with national and international agreements governing the US military presence in the country.
British diplomats also say that communication with the White House has become more difficult during Trump's second term, as decision-making has become concentrated in a very narrow circle of advisers.
However, some officials and analysts emphasize that practical cooperation at the military and intelligence levels between the two countries continues much as before. Former British national security adviser Peter Ricketts said that the Anglo-American relationship operates according to the “iceberg principle”: most cooperation takes place away from the public eye and remains unaffected by surface political tensions.
