Trump calls NATO allies “cowards” while the United Kingdom opens its bases to “weaken” Iran

Donald Trump’s pressure on NATO allies, whom he called “cowards” for not getting involved in the offensive against Iran and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, ended up taking its toll on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

His Government accepted this Friday that the United States would use the British bases of Fairford and Diego García to hit “the missile sites” and the “capabilities” that Iran uses “to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz”, blocked since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury.

According to the BBC, Downing Street does not rule out including in the range of “collective self-defense of the region” operations the protection of vessels that wish to cross the bottleneck, vital for the interests of world trade.

To date, the Labor Government had only allowed the United States to use its bases to carry out defensive operations. Downing Street assures, however, that this has not changed, and that “the principles underpinning the British approach to the conflict remain the same.”

“The United Kingdom remains committed to the defense of its population, its interests and its allies, acting in accordance with international law and without allowing itself to be drawn into the broader conflict,” states the statement from the British Government.

In reality, Labor is resorting to the same legal basis it used to allow previous US military operations. What changes are the objectives.

The leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, considers that Starmer’s decision is “the mother of all rectifications”, but the real interest lies in knowing how Trump himself, upset with the members of the Atlantic Alliance, will interpret the gesture.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, threatened his British counterpart, Yvette Cooper, with considering the United Kingdom “a participant in aggression” if it lent its bases to the United States.

This Thursday, the United Kingdom issued a joint statement with Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan in which they showed their willingness to “contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the strait.”