LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Britain took far too long to let the United States use its air bases in operations against Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump told the Daily Telegraph, adding he was disappointed in Prime Minister Keir Starmer's approach to the vital Diego Garcia base.
Britain did not let the U.S. use joint bases for Washington's initial air strikes against Iran, but on Sunday evening Starmer said he was accepting a U.S. request for their use in any "defensive" strikes against Iranian targets.
In an interview published on Monday Trump said Starmer appeared to be "worried about the legality" of the strikes.
"That's probably never happened between our countries before," Trump said of the disagreement, adding Starmer's shift in stance took "far too much time".
Trump said Starmer should have approved from the get-go the American use of Diego Garcia - a strategically important U.S.-UK air base in the Indian Ocean - saying Iran was responsible for killing "a lot of people from your country".
TRUMP TURNS CRITICAL ON CHAGOS DEAL
The U.S. and Israel launched air strikes against Iran on Saturday that killed the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and Tehran has targeted Gulf countries hosting U.S. bases with missiles.
On Sunday an Iranian-made drone hit Britain's RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus, causing limited damage and no casualties.
Trump said it was "useful" that the U.S. would now be able to launch operations from Diego Garcia but said he was "very disappointed in Keir" for a deal Starmer made on the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands where it is based.
Trump has changed position on the Chagos deal, which Britain says secures the future of the base from future legal challenges while transferring sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius.
Trump's recent hostility to the agreement was reportedly sparked by Britain's refusal to allow the base to be used for future strikes against Iran.
Starmer's spokesperson said bilateral relations with the United States and Trump remained strong.
"The UK and US are staunch allies, as we have been for many decades," the spokesperson told reporters, adding the stance had shifted because "Iran is striking British interests and putting British people at huge risk, along with our allies across the region."
(Reporting by Sarah Young, Elizabeth Piper and Alistair SmoutEditing by William Schomberg, William James and Aidan Lewis)
