Trump hints at not helping Britain in a possible conflict with Argentina over the Falkland Islands

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Donald Trump has hinted that he will not provide assistance to the UK in the event of a potential future conflict with Argentina over the Falkland Islands.

In an interview with GB News, the US President said that Britain “was not there to help me” in his country’s war with Iran, although he later said that his army did not need any support.

Trump's latest statements come after he previously said that the United States may reconsider its neutral position on the islands' sovereignty, if the United Kingdom fails to increase defense spending.

Argentine President Javier Milley is scheduled to make a televised statement on Thursday evening regarding what he describes as his country's "historic claim" to the islands.

The Falkland Islands, located in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean, remain the subject of a sovereignty dispute between Britain and Argentina, more than 40 years after the outbreak of an armed conflict over the territory.

When Trump was asked if he would provide "help to the UK" during a potential territorial dispute, he told GB News: "Well, I was there when they fought the first war." “That was a long time ago, and I followed the matter very carefully, and you have behaved very well. You have reclaimed the islands quite forcefully, but they are a very long way away.”

Then he directed his speech to the current conflict between the United States and Iran, and added, "Your country is not going through a good situation. Do not forget that you get a large percentage of your oil through the Strait of Hormuz, and you were not there to help me."

“Your country wasn't there to help me. We didn't need help, but I asked NATO, and I asked your former leader: Why didn't you send two ships?”

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Trump said that the Prime Minister at the time, Keir Starmer, told him that there were no ships available, which Trump described as "very sad."

He further added: "NATO did not exist, although most of these countries get a large part of their oil from there. So we take matters into our own hands."

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Argentina and the United Kingdom fought a short but bloody war over the territory in 1982. A British military force was able to expel the Argentine forces that landed in the Falkland Islands to assert their territorial claim there.

The 74-day fighting resulted in the deaths of 255 members of the British armed forces, three islanders, and 649 members of the Argentine armed forces.

Previous US administrations formally recognized the UK's de facto administration of the islands, but did not take a formal position on sovereignty over them.

Trump's statements came after the BBC asked him whether he was reviewing the US position on the islands.