Trump 'not happy' with UK response to Iran conflict

US President Donald Trump has renewed his criticism of the UK government over its response to the Iran conflict, after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the country would not be drawn into the "wider war".

Trump told reporters on Monday he was "not happy" with the UK, adding it "should be involved enthusiastically" in efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz - a vital oil shipping channel.

He then told a later press conference there were "some countries that greatly disappointed me" before he singled out the UK, which he said had been considered "the Rolls-Royce of allies".

Trump's remarks came after Sir Keir said the UK was working with allies on a "viable, collective plan" to reopen the strait.

Sir Keir also said the UK already had minehunters in the region but there was no decision yet on what action would be taken.

Oil prices have surged after Iran effectively shut the world's busiest oil shipping channel to tankers.

Iran has threatened to attack any ships it considers linked to the US, while there is also a risk from sea mines.

Trump has urged the UK and other countries to send warships to the Gulf to help protect the shipping channel.

Sir Keir had previously angered Trump by refusing to allow the US to use UK bases for its initial offensive strikes against Iran.

However, he has since given permission for them to be used for defensive action against Iranian missile strikes.

Speaking in Washington, Trump suggested in some cases he was asking world leaders if they would help with the Strait of Hormuz "not because we need them but because I want to find out how they're reacting".

He added he was "very surprised" at the UK's attitude towards the war and highlighted their joint work in Ukraine.

Trump said: "We don't need to work with them in Ukraine, and then they tell us that we have a mine ship around and they don't want to do it.

"I think it's terrible."

Trump went on to accuse Sir Keir of offering to send aircraft carriers "right after the war essentially ended", adding: "I was not happy with the UK.

"I think they will be involved, yeah maybe, but they should be involved enthusiastically."

The British warship HMS Dragon left Portsmouth on 10 March to join the country's defensive operations in the region.

The Type 45 destroyer's primary role will be protecting RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, which was hit with an Iranian-made drone earlier this month.

Sir Keir earlier said reopening the Strait of Hormuz was "not a simple task".

"So we're working with all of our allies, including our European partners, to bring together a viable, collective plan that can restore the freedom of navigation in the region as quickly as possible and ease economic impact."

Sir Keir said he had also been discussing the issue with the US and Gulf countries, and that any action had to be agreed "by as many partners as possible".

Pressed over whether he was refusing Trump's demand to commit the Royal Navy to protecting the strait, Sir Keir said the UK was "looking through the options" but highlighted there were already minehunting systems in the region.

Asked about the state of the UK's relationship with the US, Sir Keir insisted the two countries were "strong allies" but added: "It is for me to act in what I consider to be the best interests of Britain."

While the UK already has autonomous minehunting systems in the region, the only minehunting ship that was based there, HMS Middleton, recently returned to Portsmouth for planned maintenance.

Instead, the Royal Navy is expected to offer newly developed seaborne drones, designed to detect and neutralise mines without putting crews at risk.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump warned the Nato military alliance faced a "very bad" future if it members failed to help reopen the strait.

But a German government spokesman said the war "has nothing to do with Nato", adding that it was an alliance to defend territory.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said there would be "no military participation" from Germany, although Berlin was prepared to support diplomatic efforts to protect the strait.

"What does Donald Trump expect from a handful of European frigates in the Strait of Hormuz that the mighty US navy cannot manage alone?" he added.

This was echoed by former head of the British military, Gen Sir Nick Carter, who said Nato was designed as a defensive alliance.

"It was not an alliance that was designed for one of the allies to go on a war of choice and then oblige everybody else to follow," he told the BBC.

EU foreign ministers met on Monday to discuss how to protect the strait, but the bloc's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said there was "no appetite" for a proposal to change the mandate of the EU's naval mission in the Red Sea.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: "It is not clear the prime minister has been involved in the planning process. All of our allies seem to be worried about how slow he is.

"I'm worried that he's not deep enough in conversations with the US. But before we start sending ships out [to the Strait of Hormuz], we need to know what the plan is."

The Liberal Democrats have argued the UK should not send ships to help secure the strait and instead focus on de-escalating the war.

Speaking during an urgent question in the House of Commons, Labour MP Andy McDonald said Sir Keir was right to say the UK would not be drawn into a wider war - but warned Trump's further requests to help "police" the Strait of Hormuz was "exactly the sort of mission creep many have warned against".

Meanwhile, Sir Keir announced £53m of support for "vulnerable" households who have been hit by a sharp increase in the price of heating oil.

Unlike consumers who use gas and electricity for heating and hot water, whose prices are capped until the end of June, those using oil are not regulated by Ofgem.

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