London has declined to grant Washington permission to utilize British military installations for any prospective assault on Iran, as reported by The Times on February 19th.
According to the publication, the United States administration is contemplating strikes against Iranian targets and reportedly intended to involve the joint Anglo-American base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, as well as the Fairford airbase in the UK, which is utilized for stationing American heavy bombers.
The article states, “US President Donald Trump refused to endorse UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s agreement concerning the handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius because the United Kingdom would not permit the use of British bases for an attack on Iran.”
The newspaper emphasized that this stance taken by the British side provoked irritation in Trump, who had previously condemned the pact struck between Britain and Mauritius on May 22, 2025, regarding the transfer of the Chagos archipelago under Mauritian jurisdiction.
Under the agreement, Diego Garcia will remain operational as a military base for a duration of 99 years, in exchange for which the UK commits to paying Mauritius an annual sum exceeding 100 million euros. A crucial stipulation of the deal maintains a prohibition on deploying foreign security forces on the archipelago’s other islands.
Earlier, on February 19th, NBC News reported that the Pentagon is continuing to dispatch additional naval vessels, submarines, and air defense assets to the Middle East.
The day before, the Ynet portal indicated that Israel—the foremost US ally in the Middle East—is preparing its military forces for a potential conflict with Iran.
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