00:12I think that they, you know, when they originally were going to do it, they were talking about doing some
00:17concept of ownership, but now they're looking to essentially just do a lease and sell it, and I'm against that.
00:24You know, it's reasonably nothing like Greenland, but it's a reasonably important area of the globe, not anywhere near Greenland,
00:34but I think they should keep it.
00:36I don't know why they're doing it. Do they need money?
00:38President Donald Trump is now publicly blasting a major U.K. agreement and warning, do not give away Diego Garcia.
00:46In a February 18th post on Truth Social, Trump urged U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer not to hand over
00:55sovereignty of the strategic island in the Indian Ocean.
00:58He called the proposed 99-to-100-year lease tenuous at best and declared, quote, leases are no good when
01:06it comes to countries.
01:07At the center of this controversy is Diego Garcia, a small, remote island with massive strategic importance.
01:14Trump warned that transferring sovereignty could be a blight on our great ally.
01:20He went further, linking the issue directly to Iran.
01:23He said the base could be critical if the United States needs to eradicate a potential attack from Iran should
01:30nuclear negotiations collapse.
01:31He even speculated that Iran could target the U.K. or other allies, arguing that full control of the island
01:38is essential in an escalating security environment.
01:41What makes this more dramatic is the timing.
01:44Just hours before Trump's comments, the U.S. State Department formally backed the deal, calling the base crucial to the
01:51security of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions.
01:54So why the reversal?
01:56Earlier this month, Trump actually described the agreement as the best deal Prime Minister Starmer could make.
02:02Now he has completely flipped.
02:04Analysts suggest the shift could be linked to rising tensions with Iran, internal U.S. debates over military strategy, or
02:11even broader frictions between Washington and London.
02:14Some reports also point to pressure from pro-Israel hawks pushing for a tougher line on Iran.
02:19But does the United States even have a say?
02:22Legally, no.
02:24Sovereignty over the Chagos Islands belongs to the United Kingdom.
02:27The deal in question is between the U.K. and Mauritius.
02:30The U.S. operates out of Diego Garcia under a lease agreement, first signed in 1966, extended in 2016, and
02:38now superseded by the new treaty.
02:40However, in practice, the U.S. is a major stakeholder.
02:44The base is a joint U.K.-U.S. facility, but Washington funds and manages most of the operations.
02:49That gives the U.S. enormous influence, even if it does not have formal decision-making power.
02:54And the base itself?
02:56It is often called an unsinkable aircraft carrier.
02:59Diego Garcia has a 3,650-meter runway, a deep-water harbor, massive fuel storage capacity, facilities for strategic bombers,
03:08submarines, and pre-positioned warships.
03:10It played a key role in the 1991 Gulf War, in Afghanistan after 2001, and in the 2003 Iraq War.
03:17Today, it supports operations across the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, the Indo-Pacific, and even East Africa.
03:23With around 4,000 personnel, mostly U.S. military, it is central to power projection, protecting oil routes and deterrence
03:30against Iran and China.
03:32That is why this matters.
03:34Trump's warning is not just about a lease.
03:36It's about control, strategic certainty, and the future balance of power in the Indian Ocean.
03:41The U.K. insists the agreement is final.
03:44The State Department supports it, but with Trump publicly opposing the move, mixed signals are emerging from Washington.
03:50And in a region where military calculations can shift quickly, even a remote island can become the center of global
03:56tensions.
03:57The big question now, will diplomatic pressure change the course of the deal, or is this simply the start of
04:03a larger strategic rift between close allies?
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