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Britain’s Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper volition conscionable with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio connected Friday (February 20, 2026), aft President Donald Trump renewed his disapproval of London for ceding sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, which is location to a U.S.-UK aerial base.
Last twelvemonth British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed a woody to transportation sovereignty of the Indian Ocean islands to Mauritius, portion keeping power of 1 - Diego Garcia - done a 99-year lease that preserved U.S. operations astatine the base.
Washington past twelvemonth gave its blessing to the agreement, but Mr. Trump has since changed his caput respective times. In January, Mr. Trump described it arsenic an enactment of “great stupidity”, but earlier this period said helium understood the woody was the champion Mr. Starmer could make, earlier past renewing his disapproval this week.
Ms. Cooper is gathering Mr. Rubio to sermon defence and information issues in Washington arsenic Mr. Trump besides toughens his rhetoric connected Iran, saying Tehran indispensable marque a woody implicit its atomic programme successful the adjacent 10 to 15 days, oregon “really atrocious things” volition happen.
The Diego Garcia basal has precocious been utilized for operations successful the West Asia against Yemen’s Houthis and successful humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Trump connected Diego Garcia
Although on Tuesday Mr. Rubio’s State Department said it backed the Chagos accord, the adjacent time Mr. Trump said Britain was making a large mistake.
“DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!” Mr. Trump wrote successful a station connected Truth Social, saying the basal could beryllium called upon successful immoderate aboriginal subject cognition to “eradicate a imaginable attack” from Iran.
Under the conditions for utilizing the associated base, Britain would request to hold successful beforehand to immoderate operations retired of Diego Garcia.
On Thursday (February 19, 2026) Britain’s The Times paper reported that Mr. Trump’s latest criticism of the Chagos woody came due to the fact that Britain was yet to springiness support to usage the bases for aboriginal strikes against Iran, owing to concerns they whitethorn breach international law.
Asked astir The Times report, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said connected Thursday (February 19, 2026) it does not remark connected operational matters and that Britain supported the ongoing governmental process betwixt the U.S. and Iran.
