Trump to Burnham: “I think we’ll make a deal with Iran” – The Chagos Islands dispute

From hellfire to a deal — it’s been quite the road for Donald Trump. In his first meeting with Britain’s newly appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the U.S. President struck a surprisingly optimistic tone on Iran — a stark contrast to his official address at the 81st UN General Assembly, where he declared he was weighing whether to “send Iran to hell or help it get back on its feet” and called on member states to “isolate it economically.” After the meeting with Burnham, Trump expressed cautious optimism: “I think we’ll reach a settlement,” he said.

In a remarkable shift from his earlier rhetoric — what amounted to a near 180-degree turn — Trump acknowledged ongoing diplomatic contacts. “They want to talk to us. They are talking to us, even today they talked to us,” he continued. “But we can’t allow them… And they understand that… We cannot allow them to acquire nuclear weapons,” he added.

Trump and Burnham: Disagreements on foreign policy issues

Trump has made no secret of his frustration with Britain over what he sees as a lack of robust support on Iran, and this appears to be the backdrop for Burnham’s acknowledgment of differences on certain foreign policy matters. The British Prime Minister described their communication as “good” and said they discussed the Middle East, Ukraine, the Falkland Islands, and trade issues. Burnham faces the challenge of rebuilding the close alliance between the UK and the United States.

However, a clear point of contention emerged over the Chagos Islands sovereignty deal. In April, the British government froze the agreement that would have required it to hand over the islands to Mauritius. Among those islands lies Diego Garcia, a strategically vital base in the Indian Ocean.

Trump reiterated his criticism of London’s plans regarding the status of the joint U.S.-UK military base there — an issue Burnham has pledged to resolve.