Donald Trump has insulted the UK’s aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, as ‘toys’.
The US president also lashed out at NATO for doing ‘absolutely nothing’ to help the US in the Middle East conflict.
He continued: ‘Now they all want to help. When they’re annihilated, the other side is annihilated; they said, ‘we’d love to send ships’.
‘Actually made a statement, a couple of them, that ‘we want to get involved when the war is over’. No, it’s supposed to get involved with the war’s beginning, or even before it begins.’
He referenced how the UK offered to send assistance weeks ago, adding: ‘They aren’t the best aircraft carriers by the way. They’re toys compared to what we have.
‘But ‘we’ll send our aircraft carrier when the war is over’. I said ‘oh that’s wonderful, thank you very much. Don’t bother. We don’t need it’.’
Days ago, the British warship HMS Dragon arrived in the eastern Mediterranean and began its operations to support Cyprus, three weeks after an Iranian drone struck RAF Akrotiri on the island.
Navy forces rushed to prepare the ship for launch amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East, following criticism over a perceived lack of preparation.
The destroyer left Portsmouth on March 10 after undergoing a six-day refit, which would have taken six weeks under typical circumstances.
Ships from France, Greece and Italy have been involved in the protection of Cyprus while the British destroyer travelled there.
Britain has faced questions about its preparedness to protect its overseas bases after the drone attack and escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
Defence officials said increasingly fragile geopolitics with many different security threats made the situation complex and prevented the government from sending the ship any earlier.
US allies are struggling to avoid being drawn into the conflict, which has put global security, trade and travel at risk.
Speaking yesterday, Trump said Iran was ‘negotiating’ and ‘wants to make a deal so badly’ – a notion quickly dismissed by Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
He told Iranian state television: ‘We do not plan on any negotiations’, and Tehran told the US through an intermediary that it will continue defending itself.
Any talks between the US and Iran would face monumental challenges. Many of Washington’s shifting objectives, particularly over Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes, remain difficult to achieve.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.