Politics··10 sources

Trump recently said the the UK stupidly gave away an island for free and then leased it back and that this stopped the US planes launching their attacks on Iran from it

Partly TrueThis claim contains some truth but is misleading or missing important context.

Analysis

The claim that Trump recently said the UK "stupidly gave away an island for free and then leased it back," which allegedly stopped US planes from launching attacks on Iran from Diego Garcia, is partially supported by available sources. Multiple non-trusted sources report Trump criticizing the UK’s Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius, calling it "stupid" or "weak," and warning against losing control of Diego Garcia, a key US-UK military base. However, there is no clear evidence that the UK gave the island away for free; rather, the deal involves returning sovereignty to Mauritius while maintaining a long-term lease for the military base. Furthermore, sources do not definitively confirm that this arrangement has stopped US planes from launching attacks on Iran, only that the base is strategically important and discussions about its use continue. The claim mixes accurate elements of Trump’s criticism and the leaseback arrangement with unverified assertions about operational impacts on US military actions.

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