‘The Falklands are British’: UK blasts report of Trump mulling NATO reprisals

The United Kingdom on Friday insisted on British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands after Reuters published a report stating that President Trump is mulling over reprisals toward NATO allies for not supporting the U.S. military offensive in Iran.

An unnamed U.S. official told Reuters that an internal Pentagon email outlines options for the U.S. to review its position on “imperial possessions,” including the U.K.’s possession of the Falklands near Argentina.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper joined other British politicians from across the spectrum in declaring that the “Falklands Islands are British – sovereignty rests with the UK, self-determination rests with the islanders,” in a post on social platform X.

Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch claimed British sovereignty over the Falklands “no matter what Donald Trump says.”

“I don’t know what Donald Trump is talking about,” she said in a video posted on X. “This is — sounds like the sort of thing he was talking about when it came to Greenland. I don’t think we need to take it that seriously just yet.”

“We need to make sure that we are very determined in protecting British sovereign territory, and that includes the Falkland Islands and the Chagos,” Badenoch said, referring to paused transfer of the Chagos Islands back to the African island country Mauritius, a deal that angered Trump.

Reform U.K. Leader Nigel Farage, a frequent Trump ally, wrote on X that the Falklands “are and will always be British.”

A NATO official told The Hill that the alliance’s “Founding Treaty does not foresee any provision for suspension of NATO membership, or expulsion.”

The White House referred The Hill to the Defense Department. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson paraphrased Trump and said “despite everything that the United States has done for our NATO allies, they were not there for us.”

Wilson added that the Defense Department “will ensure that the President has credible options to ensure that our allies are no longer a paper tiger and instead do their part.”

The State Department’s website refers to the Falklands as being administered by the U.K. but claimed by Argentina.

Argentinian President Javier Milei said in a radio interview shared Friday on X that his country was doing “everything humanly possible so that the Argentine Malvinas, the islands, the entire territory return to the hands of Argentina.”

The email also suggested suspending Spain from NATO. Spain has barred the U.S. from using its bases for military aircraft used in the Iran war. The official did not disclose to Reuters how the U.S. would pursue suspending Spain.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday told Agence France-Presse that Spain is a “reliable member” of NATO. He told reporters at a European Union summit in Cyprus that he was “absolutely not worried” about Spain’s status within NATO.

“We don’t work on the basis of emails, we work off official documents and the position that the United States government has set out in this case,” Sánchez said, also adding that Spain has supported “full cooperation with its allies, but always within the framework of international law.”

Trump blasted both Spain and the U.K. last month after both countries hesitated on providing the U.S. full support over Iran. The president said he ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings with Spain” and slammed U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the move to give up the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

The U.S. and U.K. jointly operate the Diego Garcia military base within the island archipelago.

“This is not Winston Churchill,” Trump said, contrasting Starmer with the famed British prime minister who led the country during World War II. 

Updated at 2:43 p.m. EDT

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