Milei Revives Falklands Claim After 44 Years as Trump Reconsiders US Backing for Britain
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 5
Milei Revives Falklands Claim After 44 Years as Trump Reconsiders US Backing for Britain
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 5
Summary
Javier Milei used a televised address on Thursday to reopen Argentina’s claim to the Falklands, ending decades of relative dormancy in the sovereignty dispute since the 1982 war.
Trump’s signal that he was reviewing Washington’s longstanding stance on the islands gave Milei an opening, with the US president angry that Britain did not support his war on Iran.
In a GB News interview, Trump complained the UK "was not there to help me," and the report says he may use pressure over the islands to push London for higher defense and NATO spending.
Britain has already rejected Milei’s renewed claim and insists the islands’ fewer than 2,000 residents have the right to remain British, while Milei also threatened sanctions on oil companies operating there.
The episode points to wider fallout from Trump’s retaliation against allies, after moves against South Korea, Germany, Spain and Italy over Iran and defense disputes.