Trump renews criticism of UK Chagos deal as tensions with Iran loom
US President Donald Trump renewed criticism last week of the UK’s agreement with Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago, despite earlier US backing for the deal. Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump warned Prime Minister Keir Starmer was “making a big mistake” by restoring Mauritian sovereignty over the islands.
“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,” Trump wrote.
He also linked the issue to possible US military action against Iran over its nuclear program, saying Washington might need access to the Diego Garcia base and RAF Fairford “to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime” if diplomacy fails.
What the Chagos deal involves
Last year, Starmer reached an agreement with Mauritius to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands while allowing the UK to retain control of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia under a 99-year lease. The arrangement carries an average annual payment of about £110 million ($140 million) in today’s prices, which London estimates will total roughly £34 billion ($43 billion) overall.
At the time, Trump supported the agreement. During a Q&A session alongside Starmer in Washington in February 2025, he described the lease arrangement as “powerful” and “very strong,” adding that he believed it would “work out very well.” Just over a month later, he formally approved the UK’s handover of sovereignty.
Britain has administered the Chagos Archipelago since 1814. In 1965, London separated it from Mauritius for defence purposes, creating the British Indian Ocean Territory and later forcibly removing the native Chagossian population.
Legal challenges have since questioned the arrangement. In 2019, the International Court of Justice said the UK was under an obligation to end its administration of the islands “as rapidly as possible,” while a 2021 UN maritime tribunal ruling stated Britain holds no sovereignty over the archipelago.
Trump’s shifting stance in 2026
Trump publicly reversed his position in January 2026 amid tensions with European allies linked partly to his ambitions regarding Greenland, prompting Starmer to pause implementation of the deal.
On Truth Social, Trump called the agreement “an act of great stupidity,” arguing the transfer of sovereignty was among the reasons he believed Greenland should be acquired.
“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired. Denmark and its European allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING,” he wrote.
By early February, however, Trump appeared to soften his tone, saying he understood the agreement might have been “the best [deal] he could make,” while warning that the US would act to secure Diego Garcia if American operations there were threatened.
His remarks followed reports that he and Starmer had held a constructive phone discussion about the agreement.
UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has also criticized the Chagos deal, echoing some of Trump’s concerns.
In January, Badenoch said “Donald Trump is right on the Chagos deal,” adding: “This is surrendering British territory with a strategic military base on it for no reason whatsoever. It weakens our country, it is not in the national interest, it is a good deal for China and Russia.”
