President Donald Trump has “every right to be aggrieved” over the UK’s lack of support on Iran, defence analyst Simon Diggins has said.
Speaking to GB News, the former British Army officer was reacting to concerns the US could reevaluate its position on the Falkland Islands to punish Britain.
The plan was revealed in a leaked Pentagon email, which outlined potential measures to remind Nato allies who declined to participate in US-Israeli military strikes against Iran.
It suggested Washington could reassess its diplomatic backing for what it termed British “imperial possessions,” including the Falklands.
The Pentagon has not confirmed the existence of the email, but a spokesman suggested the President had “credible options” to address allies who were “a paper tiger”.
President Trump has prosecuted a volcanic feud with Keir Starmer over the Prime Minister’s initial reticence to allow American warplanes to use British bases and position on his war with Tehran.
Limited authorisation was eventually given for facilities such as RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia to support defensive missions targeting Iranian missile installations threatening the Strait of Hormuz, though only after Iran began retaliatory strikes.
“He is vengeful,” Mr Diggins said.
Donald Trump has ‘every right to be aggrieved’ over UK’s lack of support on Iran amid Falklands threat, Simon Diggins has warned
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“I think he's got every right to be aggrieved by our failure to support him in the war with Iran.”
The defence expert observed that Mr Trump was: “Looking at something that's very sensitive to us. And I can't think of anything more sensitive than the sovereignty of the Falklands.”
Last month, GB News revealed that Britain was woefully underprepared to defend the South Atlantic territory, with veterans of the 1982 conflict warning that the UK lacked “credibility” as a global power.
Mr Diggins said the leaked memo: “Ticks quite a lot of boxes in terms of some of the wider thinking that's gone on inside the Maga movement and President Trump's entourage.“
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A leaked memo suggsted Washington could drop its backing of what it termed British 'imperial possessions'
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“I think what we've seen from President Trump and his team is a very bold statement of the challenge and the failure of Europe to rearm and defend itself,” the former Army officer told The People’s Channel.
“This includes the so-called ‘Donroe’ Doctrine, which essentially dictates that the United States of America is in control of the Western Hemisphere,” he said.
Much like the historical Monroe Doctrine, Mr Diggins believed the current US posture towards the UK and Europe did not begin with President Trump.
“Go back to 2011, when you've got President Obama in the white House and Secretary Clinton talking about the pivot to the Pacific.
Mr Diggins explained the US pressue on Europe predates the Trump administration
|GB NEWS
“That was a kind of subtle hint to them that Europe needs to look after their own.
“I think what we've seen from President Trump and his team is a very bold statement of the challenge and the failure of Europe to rearm and defend itself,” the former Army officer told The People’s Channel.
Downing Street has maintained that Britain's position on the Falklands would not shift, with a spokesman emphasising that sovereignty rests with the UK and that self-determination remains paramount.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper added that the Government's commitment to the islands was “unwavering”.
The US turning a blind eye to a hypothetical Argentina attempt to seize the islands would not be unprecedented.
In 1956, Britain and France moved to seize the Suez Canal following its nationalisation by the anticolonial Egyptian leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened decisively, using financial and diplomatic pressure to force a humiliating withdrawal of Western powers from the region.