UK blocks US from using military bases for potential Iran strike
Daily News Article — Posted on February 20, 2026
The United Kingdom is blocking the [U.S.] from using its military air bases for a possible attack on Iran over concerns that a strike could violate international law.
A report by The (UK) Times said the U.S. was drawing up a report to use Royal Air Force base Fairford in England, which is home to America’s fleet of heavy bombers in Europe.
President Donald Trump reportedly spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday about the plans. U.K. officials were reportedly worried that giving the United States permission to use the RAF bases for a military attack could breach international law, according to The Times.
“Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday.
“An attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly countries. We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them.”
Trump has pressed for Tehran to make a deal with the U.S. over its nuclear weapons program.
“President Trump’s first instinct is always diplomacy, and he has been clear that the Iranian regime should make a deal,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. “Of course, the President ultimately has all options at his disposal, and he demonstrated with Operation Midnight Hammer (the June 2025 U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities) and Operation Absolute Resolve (the U.S. capture of Venezuelan dictator and narcoterrorist Nicholas Maduro) that he means what he says.”
On Thursday, Trump told reporters Iran has a maximum of 15 days to make a deal or “it’s going to be unfortunate for them.”
Washington and Britain have been in a rift over the use of Britain’s air bases. Under the terms of long-standing agreements with Washington, the bases can only be used for military operations against third countries that have been agreed in advance with the government, according to The Times.
Britain’s [refusal to allow the U.S. to launch an attack on Iran from its bases] is reportedly the [the reason for] President Trump’s sudden U-turn on a deal that would see the UK cede control over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
The deal is an attempt to resolve long-running colonial tensions over its control of the islands — but it would allow the UK to keep control of Diego Garcia and its strategically important air base with a 99-year lease.
The US uses Diego Garcia as one of its most far-flung outposts for bombers and other aircraft operating in both the Middle East and Asia.
It remains to be seen if Starmer — a member of the UK’s liberal Labor party who currently has historically low approval ratings — will be able to drum up enough support in Parliament to approve the Chagos Islands deal without Trump’s backing.
The Chagos Archipelago is made up of about 60 islands located about 1,500 miles south of India, a position that offers the base on the island of Diego Garcia a strategic advantage due to its proximity to the Middle East and South Asia.
The archipelago has been in British possession since 1814, with the UK looking to return the islands to their native inhabitants.
Compiled from articles published at FoxNews and NY Post on Feb. 19, 2026. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission.
Questions
NOTE to students: Before answering the questions, read the “Background.”
1. a) For what reason is UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer blocking the U.S. from using their military air bases in Fairford, England and Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands to launch a potential attack on Iran?
b) Under what circumstances does a US-UK agreement allow the US to use these two airbases?
2. How did President Trump describe the Iranian regime in a Truth Social post Wednesday?
3. What did the president point out about the potential Iranian threat to the UK?
4. What warning did President Trump give Iran on Thursday?
5. How does the U.S. use Britain's Diego Garcia airbase?
6. What is your reaction to Prime Minister Starmer's refusal to let the U.S. use the strategic bases for a potential attack on Iran?
Background
RAF Fairford is owned by the British Ministry of Defense. Although designated as an RAF station, it is made available to the US Department of Defense under the 1951 NATO Status of Forces Agreement and other arrangements. The use of the station for combat operations is a joint decision between the British and US governments.
Diego Garcia: The US does not own Diego Garcia, but it operates a major joint military base there under a long-term leasing arrangement. The base is a joint facility between the UK and the US, but the US military is the primary user.
The base supports US Air Force bombers, naval support facilities, and nuclear submarine visits. It is crucial for surveillance, intelligence gathering, and tracking in the Indian Ocean. (wikipedia)
Diego Garcia is a 17-square-mile coral atoll located in the central Indian Ocean, acting as a key U.S. military base. Shaped like a footprint, the island is roughly 14–15 miles long, with a maximum elevation of only 22 feet above sea level. It features a large, 13-mile-long lagoon and serves as a major naval and air support facility. (Britannica)
IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM:
- Iran’s 20 year secret nuclear program was discovered in 2002. The Iranian government has always claimed its uranium enrichment program is for energy purposes only, but it has been working on produce high-enriched uranium, used to make nuclear bombs. Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state to do so. Also, Iran has only built one nuclear power plant in all that time, which generates less than 1% of the country’s electricity.
- Under the United Nations’ NPT (Non Proliferation Treaty) countries are not allowed to make nuclear weapons (except for the 5 that had nuclear weapons prior to the treaty – the U.S., Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom). Iran, along with 190 other UN member countries, signed the treaty.
- Safeguards are used to verify compliance with the Treaty through inspections conducted by the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency).
- The IAEA has consistently stated it is unable to conclude that Iran’s nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
- The IAEA issued a report on Sept. 15, 2008 that said Iran has repeatedly blocked an investigation into its nuclear program and since then, the U.N. Security Council imposed at least four sets of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear defiance. Despite the sanctions, Iran has refused to end its nuclear program.
- In June 2022, Iran removed IAEA cameras and other monitoring equipment from its nuclear facilities. Then, in September 2023, Iran barred U.N. inspectors from monitoring the country’s nuclear program. These actions were a response to criticism from the IAEA, particularly after the IAEA’s board censured Iran in November 2022 for failing to answer questions about uranium traces found at undeclared sites.
- The Iranian government has called for the destruction of Israel on numerous occasions (and “Death to America” as well). It is believed that once obtained, the Iranian regime would use nuclear weapons against Israel.
Operation Midnight Hammer
- On June 22, 2025, the U.S. Air Force and Navy attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran as part of the Iran–Israel war, under the code name Operation Midnight Hammer.
- Iran's Fordow Uranium Enrichment Plant, Natanz Nuclear Facility, and Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center were targeted with fourteen GBU-57A/B MOP "bunker buster" bombs carried by B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, and Tomahawk missiles fired from a submarine.
- The attack was the United States' only offensive action in the Iran–Israel war, which began on June 13 with surprise Israeli strikes and ended with the ceasefire on June 24, 2025. It was the first U.S. attack on an Iranian target since the 2020 assassination of Qasem Soleimani, and on Iran's territory since a 1988 naval offensive.
- A July 2025 Pentagon assessment found that Iran's nuclear program was likely set back around 2 years. (wikipedia)