U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the war in Iran on March 8, just over one week after the U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury.
“The leaders began by discussing the latest situation in the Middle East and the military cooperation between the UK and U.S. through the use of RAF (Royal Air Force) bases in support of the collective self-defence of partners in the region,” a spokeswoman from Starmer’s office said in a statement.
However, the leaders discussed the Americans who were killed in Operation Epic Fury.
“The Prime Minister also shared his heartfelt condolences with President Trump and the American people following the deaths of six U.S. soldiers,” the spokesperson said.
Shortly after the statement, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) revealed that a seventh American was killed in the Iran war.
Sunday’s talk between the leaders took place one day after Trump criticized Starmer and the United Kingdom in a Truth Social post.
“The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on March 7.
“That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer—But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”
The United Kingdom was not involved in the initial attacks on Iran and called Iran’s retaliatory strikes in the region “dangerous” for British citizens and people in the world.
Starmer first urged peace talks when the conflict broke out, but on March 1, the UK allowed the United States to use British military bases in the region to target where Iranian missiles are stored and launched from.
Iran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and thousands of one-way attack drones across the region in the past week.
On March 8, CENTCOM warned Iranian civilians to stay inside because the regime was allegedly using crowded areas in cities such as Dezful, Esfahan, and Shiraz to launch attack drones and ballistic missiles.
“Iran’s terrorist regime is blatantly disregarding civilian lives by attacking Gulf partners while compromising the safety of their own people,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM.
Both the United States and the United Kingdom have worked to bring home tens of thousands of their citizens who were in the Middle East on Feb. 28.
Reuters contributed to this report.
