The US-UK rift is taking another dramatic turn as Washington is considering reviewing Britain’s claim on the Falkland Islands to punish the country over its lack of support in the Iran conflict.
According to an internal leaked Pentagon email and reported WireThe idea of ​​reviewing Britain’s claim was put forward by a US official, urging the US to re-evaluate its diplomatic support for European “imperial possessions”, including the Falklands.
The email also mentioned possible punishments that Trump could impose on NATO allies for refusing to help the US in its war against America.
Washington should suspend Spain from NATO for sharply criticizing the war and excluding “difficult countries” from prestigious positions in the military alliance.
The latest development comes as Trump also threatened to impose major tariffs on Britain if the country did not abandon its digital services tax policy, which imposed a 2 percent tax on US social media companies.
Trump said, “If they don’t remove the taxes, we’ll probably put big tariffs on Britain… They think they’re going to make easy money, so they’ve taken advantage of our country.”
The potential review of the situation highlights how deep the rift between the US and Britain has grown over Britain’s reluctance to support the Trump administration in the Middle East.
In a significant move for UK-US relations, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer rejected Washington’s request to use British military assets, particularly the base at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands, for offensive operations against Iran.
The Falkland Islands agreement is already a point of deep contention between Britain and Argentina.
According to Britain, its claims are legally and morally justified by the wishes of the people living there. But, Argentina denies these claims.
During the Falklands War in 1982, the Reagan administration supported Britain’s efforts to retake the islands from invading Argentina, initially remaining neutral.
The announcement follows the state visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the US next week. Despite the sourness in relations with Britain, Trump claimed that the upcoming visit could help improve relations with Britain.
