Downing Street has insisted the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands is “not in question” in response to reports of a leaked Pentagon memo suggesting the US may review its position on the territory in retaliation for the UK’s lack of support for strikes against Iran.Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson on Friday highlighted that the Falklands had voted “overwhelmingly in favour of remaining a UK overseas territory” and defended the “islanders’ right to self-determination”.
An internal Pentagon memo suggested the US may re-examine its diplomatic support for European claims to “imperial possessions” such as the Falklands as one of a suite of options to hit back at Nato allies who withheld support in the US-Israeli war against Iran, Reuters reported on Friday.
The fresh tensions create a tumultuous backdrop to King Charles III’s four-day state visit to the US, which begins on Monday.