As Iran strikes loom, US and UK fight over Indian Ocean base

As the U.S. surges troops to the Middle East, a battle is brewing over a strategically significant American base in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would oppose any effort to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, arguing that a U.S. base on the island of Diego Garcia may be necessary to “eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous [Iranian] Regime.” The comment came just a day after the State Department reiterated its support for the U.K.’s decision to give up sovereignty over the islands while maintaining a 99-year lease for the base.

The sudden shift emerged from a dispute over whether the U.K. would join the U.S. in a military campaign against Iran, according to The Times. British officials, fearful that a campaign of strikes would violate international law, are reportedly refusing to grant permission for American forces to use the base on Diego Garcia as well as a second major air base in England, both of which are jointly operated by Washington and London.

The battle risks derailing a years-long effort by the U.K. to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a former British colony that won a series of international court cases affirming its territorial claims over the archipelago. British leaders say the only way to ensure the continued operation of the military base there is to respect these rulings, and Mauritius has expressed support for this approach. But the U.K. can only move forward on the deal with U.S. approval, according to senior British officials who spoke with The Times.

The joint base on Diego Garcia holds an outsized role in U.S. military strategy in the Middle East. The island, which British authorities depopulated in the 1960s and 70s, lies at the heart of the Indian Ocean. American forces have long used the base there as a port for naval vessels and a key refueling station for long-range bombers, which the U.S. would need in order to launch a major air campaign against Iran.

Trump has repeatedly gone back and forth on whether to back the deal with Mauritius, calling it an “act of great stupidity” in January before changing course and embracing it as the “best deal [Britain] could make” earlier this month. These reversals lend credence to the idea that Trump is using the issue in an attempt to strong-arm the British government into assisting American airstrikes in Iran.

But support among European allies for attacks on Iran remains limited. The European Union warned Thursday that escalation would have “heavy repercussions” in the Middle East, adding that it is “crucial that all the parties abide by international law” and “show restraint.”