A Pentagon email suggested Donald Trump’s US administration could review its position on the UK’s claim to the Falkland Islands.
The UK insisted the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands was “not in question” after reports the US administration could review its position on the South Atlantic territory in retaliation for Sir Keir Starmer’s lack of support for the war in Iran.
An internal Pentagon email set out options for Donald Trump’s administration to punish Nato allies for refusing to join the US-Israeli strikes against Iran.
The memo, first reported by Reuters, suggests reassessing US diplomatic support for “imperial possessions” such as the Falklands.
The potential for a shift in the US position has been considered in the Foreign Office although it has been treated as a “hypothetical scenario”.
Downing Street said the UK’s stance on the Falklands was not going to change.
“The Falkland Islands have previously voted overwhelmingly in favour of remaining a UK overseas territory, and we’ve always stood behind the islanders’ right to self-determination and the fact that sovereignty rests with the UK,” a No 10 spokesman said.
“The question of the Falkland Islands and the UK’s sovereignty and the islanders’ right to self-determination is not in question, and we’ve expressed that position clearly and consistently.”
The row is the latest sign of the strains in the US-UK relationship as the King and Queen prepare for their state visit on Monday.
The No 10 spokesman said: “We are absolutely confident the state visit will showcase the very best of the UK-US bilateral relationship, from security to our economic ties, and our people to people relationships.”
Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and invaded them in 1982 before being defeated in a short but bloody war.
The US president is an ally of Argentina’s president Javier Milei and Mr Trump’s relationship with Sir Keir has deteriorated dramatically since the start of the Iran crisis.
The Prime Minister has refused to give the US free rein in its use of British military bases to conduct the bombing campaign against Iran.
Limited permission was granted for bases – including RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory – to be used in defensive actions against Iran’s missile sites and installations threatening the Strait of Hormuz, but only after Tehran’s retaliatory actions began.
The US state department describes the Falklands as “administered by the United Kingdom, claimed by Argentina” and uses the Spanish name Islas Malvinas alongside the English name.
Ben Judah, who was a special adviser to former foreign secretary David Lammy, said “the Milei issue is actually a concern”.
Responding to the reports from the US, he said: “This was a then still hypothetical scenario I had concerns about when I was working in the Foreign Office on the UK’s overseas territories.”
He suggested converting them from overseas territories to overseas kingdoms, represented by MPs elected to Westminster.
“If this were already the case, His Majesty would be visiting Washington to see Trump this week as King of the Kingdom of the Falklands.”
The Pentagon email expressed frustration at Nato allies’ reluctance to grant access, basing and overflight (ABO) rights for the Iran war.
It suggested Spain could be suspended from the Nato alliance over its refusal to allow bases or airspace to be used to attack Iran.
Downing Street backs Spain’s membership of the “absolutely critical” alliance.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the US stance was “absolute nonsense”.
She said: “We need to make sure that we back the Falklands. They are British territory.
“I don’t know what Donald Trump is talking about. This sounds like the sort of thing he was saying when it came to Greenland.”
