Toys compared to ours: Trump ridicules UK carriers amid Iran war tensions

US President Donald Trump has taken a fresh swipe at Britain’s military capabilities, dismissing its aircraft carriers as “toys” and exposing widening cracks among Western allies as the Iran war intensifies.

“The British said ‘we’ll send our aircraft carriers’ — which aren’t the best aircraft carriers by the way, they are toys compared to what we have,” Trump said. “I said ‘that’s wonderful, thank you very much — don’t bother’.”

Speaking at the White House, Trump voiced frustration over what he sees as limited British support for the US-Israel campaign against Iran.

He said he was very disappointed that the UK did not allow the use of the joint Diego Garcia base for strikes using US B-2 bombers, describing it as a missed opportunity in the conflict.

Trump’s remarks land at a sensitive moment for Britain’s defence posture. The Royal Navy’s operational strength has come under scrutiny after Germany stepped in to support a Nato maritime mission. Berlin deployed a frigate with a British officer in command, replacing HMS Dragon, which had been redirected to defend Cyprus amid Iranian attacks.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey acknowledged concerns, saying he was not happy with the current state of British warships, though he did not specify how many are fit for combat.

Trump also used the moment to criticise Nato more broadly, accusing the alliance of failing to support US and Israeli operations.

“Nato nations have done absolutely nothing,” he said, adding in a social media post that the US “needs nothing from NATO” but would not forget the lack of support.

He pointed to Iran’s recent strike on the Diego Garcia base as evidence of Tehran’s capabilities, suggesting allies underestimated the threat.

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