Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have spoken for the first time since the US president angrily criticised the UK’s Iran response.
No 10 released limited details of the call, saying the two leaders discussed the situation in the Middle East and military cooperation between the UK and US.
On Saturday, the president said the UK was considering sending aircraft carriers to the Middle East but dismissed the prospect, writing on social media “we don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!” – while labelling Britain “our once great ally”.
Sir Keir has previously said the UK would not join offensive actions, but agreed to let the US use British bases for defensive strikes on Iranian missile sites.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his frustration at the prime minister after he refused a US request to use UK bases for initial offensive strikes against Iran.
Earlier this week, Trump said he was “not happy with the UK”, adding that Sir Keir was “no Winston Churchill”.
Speaking to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Sir Keir Starmer was “right to stand up for Britain’s interests” and that the UK government would not agree with the president “on every issue”.
“It’s for the US president to decide what he thinks is in the US national interest, and that’s for him to do.
“But it is our job as the UK government to decide what’s in the UK national interest, and that doesn’t mean simply agreeing with other countries or outsourcing our foreign policy to other countries.”
Following the phone call between Trump and Sir Keir, Downing Street said in a statement: “The leaders began by discussing the latest situation in the Middle East and the military cooperation between the UK and US through the use of RAF bases in support of the collective self-defence of partners in the region.
“The prime minister also shared his heartfelt condolences with President Trump and the American people following the deaths of six US soldiers.
“They looked forward to speaking again soon.”
Despite the criticism from Trump, Downing Street has defended its decision not to join the initial strikes and has reiterated that it does not want to participate in the wider offensive campaign in the Middle East.
Cooper said the UK would “provide defensive support when we see Iranian strikes on partner countries where British citizens are residing”.
RAF jets have been sent to the region to shoot down missiles and drones fired by Iran at UK allies.
The UK aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has been placed on advanced readiness but the foreign secretary would not confirm whether it would be sent to the region.
On Friday, former Labour Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair – who led the UK into the Iraq war in 2003 – told a private event that the UK should have backed the strikes from the beginning.
He said the US was an “indispensable cornerstone” of the UK’s security, and that allies should “show up” regardless of who the current president is.
Cooper, who was a junior minister in Sir Tony’s government when the UK joined the US invasion of Iraq, said it was “important to learn lessons from what went wrong” in that conflict.
She said that included “recognising that all our decisions need to be about what is right for British citizens”.
The foreign secretary said “there are some people in politics who think we should just unquestioningly agree with the US whatever” while others “think we should never agree with the US” or “go along with joint action” but that neither was the right approach.
Appearing on the same programme, the Iranian ambassador in London warned the UK to be “very careful” about becoming further involved in the war.
Seyed Ali Mousavi said “if facilities or properties or bases are used against the Iranian nation”, they would be considered “legitimate targets”.
Original Reporting by BBC World Service
