U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hold a press conference following their meeting at Chequers, near Aylesbury, Britain, Sept. 18, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump has once again criticized the U.K.’s plan to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius, telling the country not to “give away” the territory where a strategic U.S.-U.K. military base is located.
“DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!” Trump posted on his Truth Social media platform on Wednesday, saying he’d been telling British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that he should “not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia.”
The U.K. agreed in May 2025 to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, which has long-disputed the U.K.’s acquisition and ownership of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
The deal would see the U.K. lease back the military base it shares with the U.S. on the largest island on the archipelago, Diego Garcia, for £101 million ($135.7 million) a year, for an initial 99-year period.
The U.S. previously voiced support for the deal and, on Tuesday, the Department of State said it “supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago.”
Trump seesaws on the deal
Trump is not the biggest fan of the Chagos deal, however, and he has seesawed on the issue of ceding the territory to Mauritius.
In January, he called the deal “an act of great stupidity,” but he was more conciliatory in early February, stating: “I understand that the deal Prime Minister Starmer has made, according to many, the best he could make,” he commented on Truth Social.
“However, if the lease deal, sometime in the future, ever falls apart, or anyone threatens or endangers US operations and forces at our base, I retain the right to militarily secure and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia,” he added.
Diego Garcia, a British Indian Ocean Territory and the largest of the islands in the Chagos Archipelago on July 02, 2013 in Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory.
USGS NASA | Gallo Images | Getty Images
On Wednesday, he returned to his negative position on the agreement, saying that he’d told Starmer “that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries.”
“He is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease with whoever it is that is ‘claiming’ Right, Title, and Interest to Diego Garcia, strategically located in the Indian Ocean,” Trump said.
The president suggested that giving the islands away was an act of “Wokeism,” as it had come after the U.K. faced sustained international and legal pressure to relinquish the islands, and to redress its thorny colonial history on the islands.
“We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them,” Trump said.
The U.K. has repeatedly said that it “will never compromise on our national security” when it comes to the Chagos deal.
Iran action?
Trump also suggested Wednesday that the joint military base on the island could be vital if military action was taken against Iran — if the Islamic Republic did not agree a new nuclear deal during current talks with the U.S.
“Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime — An attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly Countries,” Trump said.
The U.S. and Mauritius are due to hold talks on the Chagos deal next week, from Feb. 23-25, with the U.S. Department of State noting that the discussions” underscore the continued importance of the Chagos archipelago and the joint U.S.-U.K. base on Diego Garcia to our national security.”
“The discussions will focus on bilateral security cooperation and effective implementation of security arrangements for the base to ensure its long-term, secure operation,” the department said.
