British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has blocked a request from US President Donald Trump to allow US forces to use British air bases during any pre-emptive strike on Iran, claiming it could violate international law, according to multiple reports in British media citing government sources.
According to The Times of London, which first reported the disagreement over access to air bases, Starmer denied the use of RAF Fairford, in England, and Diego Garcia — a British overseas territory in the Indian Ocean — for any .
The two bases have long served as crucial American military support points for distant operations, with Diego Garcia being a key airfield for the United States’ heavy bomber fleet.
The Times reports that the UK is concerned that allowing the US to use the bases “would be a breach of international law, which makes no distinction between a State carrying out the attack and those supporting it if the latter have ‘knowledge of the circumstances of the internationally wrongful act'”.
The Times cited British government sources. The BBC, The Guardian and The Telegraph also subsequently published their own reports on the blocking of access to the bases, citing sources.
American requests to use British bases for operational purposes have historically been considered on a case-by-case basis, with precise criteria withheld for security reasons under long-standing agreements.
“All decisions about approving the use of military bases in the United Kingdom by foreign nations for operational purposes consider the legal basis and political justification for any proposed activity,” wrote Al Carns, Minister for Veterans, in response to questions from independent British MP Jeremy Corbyn, according to a January report in the UK Defense Journal.
Starmer and Trump held a phone call on Tuesday night (17), with statements saying the two discussed peace in the Middle East and Europe.
The next day, Trump used his Truth Social platform to withdraw support for a deal that would transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, the Indian Ocean archipelago that is home to the joint U.S.-UK Naval Support Facility of Diego Garcia, to Mauritius in exchange for a 99-year lease on the military base.
A CNN reached out to the White House for comment.
The United Kingdom had separated the Chagos Islands from Mauritius before that colony gained independence, something that has been a source of diplomatic friction, as well as multiple legal battles with local residents who have been evicted.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled that the United Kingdom must return the islands “as quickly as possible” so that they can be decolonized.
A deal to return them has been making its way through British government channels ever since, with London arguing that a lease compromise would avoid costly and likely futile future court battles while maintaining military access in the Indian Ocean.
After initially opposing the UK-Mauritius deal, Trump in early February said it was the “best” London could get under the circumstances.
But as the United States has increased its forces in the region for a possible attack on Iran, Trump has changed his position, saying in a post on Truth Social, a social network he created, that Starmer is “making a big mistake” by agreeing to the Mauritius lease deal.
“Prime Minister Starmer is losing control of this important Island over claims by never before known entities. In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature,” he said in the post.
But just a day earlier, the U.S. State Department issued a statement saying, in part, that Washington “supports the United Kingdom’s decision to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius.”
Asked about the discrepancy between the publication in Truth Social and the State Department’s statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the president’s speech should be considered as the “policy” of the Trump administration.
In his social media post, Trump made direct reference to the two British air bases, cited by the media, as important in one.
“It may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia and the Air Force Base located in Fairford to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime,” the American president wrote.
Neither Diego Garcia nor Fairford, the main forward operating base for U.S. strategic bombers in Europe, were used in the pinpoint attack by B-2 bombers against Iranian nuclear facilities in June last year.
On that occasion, the stealth bombers made a round trip of about 37 hours from their base in Missouri.
But analysts predict that any new American attack on Tehran could be a much longer campaign, possibly weeks or more.
But analysts predict that any further US action on Iran could be a much longer campaign, possibly lasting weeks or longer.
In such a campaign, having the B-2s, as well as the B-1 and B-52 bombers, using bases thousands of miles closer to Iran would allow quicker turnarounds for rearming and resupply for further strikes.
While the US may have access to other bases in countries allied closer to Iran, using them could put its prestigious fleet of heavy bombers within range of retaliatory strikes from Iranian missiles.
