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President Trump used the past tense on Saturday to describe the U.K. as America\u2019s \u201conce great ally\u201d when he rejected the country\u2019s offer to send aircraft carriers to the Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe United Kingdom, our once great ally, made the greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the middle east,\u201d said Trump. \u201cThat\u2019s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don\u2019t need them any longer. But we will remember. We don\u2019t need people that join wars after we\u2019ve already won.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Before changing his stance, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer had criticized the strikes, <\/span>saying<\/span><\/a>, \u201c<\/span>Donald Trump has plunged the Middle East into chaos. We will stand by ethics, no matter the pressure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n At a press conference on Friday, Starmer <\/span>explained<\/span><\/a> the policy shift came when Iran started attacking countries around the Gulf and the surrounding region.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen Iran started attacking countries around the Gulf and the wider region, the situation changed. Iran has now fired drones and missiles at ten countries that did not attack them,\u201d Starmer said. \u201cThese are allies of the U.K. where we have hundreds of thousands of British people as well as British military personnel. Our number one priority is protecting our people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Before Iran\u2019s attacks, Starmer explained he only wanted a negotiated settlement with Iran where they would give up their nuclear ambitions. \u201cThat\u2019s why I took the decision that the U.K. would not join the initial strikes on Iran by the U.S. and Israel. That decision was deliberate. It was in the national interest and I stand by it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n