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The United Kingdom is blocking the Trump administration from using its military air bases for a possible attack on Iran over concerns that a strike could violate international law.
A report by The Times said the U.S. was drawing up a report to use Royal Air Forces base Fairford in England, which is home to America’s fleet of heavy bombers in Europe.
President Donald Trump reportedly spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday about the plans. UK officials were reportedly worried that giving the United States permission to use the RAF bases for a military attack could breach international law, according to The Times.
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American aircrews check a B-52 Stratofortress long-range subsonic bomber aircraft on the pan at RAF Fairford. The United Kingdom reportedly is refusing to let the United States use the base for a potential attack on Iran. (Getty Images)
“Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday.
“An attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly countries. We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them,” he added.
Trump has pressed for Tehran to make a deal with the U.S. over its nuclear program.
“President Trump’s first instinct is always diplomacy, and he has been clear that the Iranian regime should make a deal,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. “Of course, the President ultimately has all options at his disposal, and he demonstrated with Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Absolute Resolve that he means what he says.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the use of British military bases against Iran is a “necessity for an attack – it would be beyond surprising.”
“The bottom line is the largest state sponsor of terrorism on the planet is the weakest it’s been because the people of Iran have risen up by the millions to end their oppression and the United States and Israel have delivered crushing blows to the regime’s military infrastructure,” Graham wrote on X.
“To my friends in Britain, sitting this one out puts you on the wrong side of history and is yet another example of how much our alliances throughout Europe have degraded,” he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pose for a photo, at a world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war, amid a U.S.-brokered prisoner-hostage swap and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool (REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool)
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On Thursday, Trump told reporters that Iran has a maximum of 15 days to make a deal or “it’s going to be unfortunate for them.”
Washington and Britain have been in a rift over the use of its air bases. Under the terms of long-standing agreements with Washington, the bases can only be used for military operations against third countries that have been agreed in advance with the government, according to The Times.
On Wednesday, Trump withdrew his support for Starmer’s deal to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. However, a deal would allow the UK to keep control of Diego Garcia and its strategically important air base.
“Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and powerful one, and it has been for many years, but Prime Minister Starmer is losing control of this important island by claims of entities never known of before. In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature,” Trump wrote Wednesday.
Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago and site of a major United States military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean leased from the UK in 1966. (reuters)
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“Prime Minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100-year lease,” he added. “This land should not be taken away from the UK and, if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our great ally.”
The U.S. uses Diego Garcia for bombers operating in the Middle East and Asia.
