British right-wing leaders distance themselves from Trump over Iran war strategy

The leader of the Conservative Party in Britain, Kemi Badenoch, has declared that Donald Trump has upended the Middle East, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also leveled criticism against the US president.

In a rare rebuke of the American leader, the Conservative chief stated that Trump must not “walk away” from the region after initiating the war, invoking former US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s “Pottery Barn rule”: “If you break it, you own it.”

During a speech on Wednesday night, Trump told NATO allies they must “seize and protect” the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway, which carries a fifth of the world’s oil, is effectively under blockade by Tehran, driving fuel prices sharply higher and posing the threat of a global recession.

Speaking after telling The Telegraph that he was seriously considering withdrawing the US from NATO, Trump called on other nations to find their “somewhat overdue courage” and take control of the strait, asserting that “the hard part is over, so it should be easy.”

Badenoch criticized the US war in the Middle East, saying: “It feels as if there is no coordinated plan. As former US Secretary of State Colin Powell said, ‘You break it, you own it.’ What I want to see now is less chatter, more of a plan, and a clear, organized way to end this conflict and work for Western interests; from my perspective, for British national interests too. If he thinks it is a mess, he should not walk away from the mess he has now created.”

Badenoch’s criticism of Trump follows her condemnation last month of the US president’s attacks on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which she described as “very childish” and “unbecoming.”

Tensions between the White House and the Prime Minister began after Britain initially refused, citing international law, to grant the US permission to launch strikes against Iran from RAF bases.

Since then, Trump has remarked that his British counterpart is “no Winston Churchill” and has reportedly begun referring to the Labour leader as a “loser.”

Earlier this week, Trump told The Telegraph that the King would support him regarding the Iran war, implying that the monarch would adopt a “different stance” from Starmer.

On Thursday, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also criticized Trump, stating that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was correct in his decision not to join the US war.

Farage added that it was unclear why Washington chose to initiate this conflict, noting that “sometimes it’s difficult to listen to the press conferences to understand it.”

The statements from both leaders serve as the latest sign that the British right is distancing itself from Trump.

In his Wednesday speech, Trump claimed the war was nearly over but threatened to bomb Iran “extremely hard” if the country did not submit to his demands.

Iran responded with warnings of “crushing” attacks and launched further missiles at Israel and Gulf nations on Thursday morning.

The airstrikes conducted against Iran partially destroyed the B1 bridge in Karaj, the highest bridge in the Middle East.

In a video call with representatives from over 40 countries on Thursday, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said, “our job is to take decisions in the UK national interest.”

However, Cooper signaled that Iran could face further sanctions if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, accusing the country of attempting to “hold the global economy to ransom.”