PRESIDENT Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has told GB News that the UK’s support for US military action against Iran came “a little too late” but the Prime Minister’s relationship with Trump can be repaired.
Asked about the UK’s military contribution, he told Ben Leo on GB News: “I think you heard what the President said, we value support. We value alliances. The UK relationship with the United States is a critical one. But I’m going to let the President comment on the destroyer.
“He has said, as you know that it is a little bit – it does fall into the category of too little too late, but I think they have a good, solid relationship, and hopefully they’ll be able to repair it.
“I go by what the President says, and the President says continuously that everybody is entitled to their point of view. But I think sometimes we detect that there’s not that feeling of gratitude.
“I think the President’s position is that we do plenty for Europe, plenty for the UK, in the area of trade, in the area of defence, in the area of the support we give to NATO. And I think sometimes the response back, the reciprocity back, is a little bit lacking. I would leave it at that, okay?”
On Sir Keir Starmer’s position that the US should negotiate with the Iranian leadership, he said:, “Well, first of all, the President had us at the table trying to get a deal done. He didn’t want this war, and he’s not one from the forever war camp. The Houthi war lasted for 30 days, and then it was over. Midnight Hammer, 12 days, and then it was over.
“This is not about starting a war and staying in a long term conflict. This is about peace through strength and finding objectives that are good for the world, good for that region, good for the United States. And if we have to do it kinetically, we will.
“And if we can get it done diplomatically, that’s preferable. I think if the Iranians were to come to us, and they were to meet all of the objectives that we set forth in that negotiation, I think that the President would give it serious consideration if he felt that they were genuine in that in that approach to us, that they would abide by it, and that there was no chance of them breaking that deal later on, particularly after he left office.
“He’s a very strong president. He wants to make sure that he locks this deal down.”
On Iran’s threat to mine the Strait of Hormuz, Witkoff said: “I think it would be a very silly escalation of this conflict, it won’t be effective. We’ll be able to keep it open. We will keep it open.
“The President has stated that unequivocally, we will do what’s necessary to defend freedom of transit and I think that going up and against President Trump has proved to be a very bad idea.”
He said that rising energy prices would not affect President Trump’s resolve: “I don’t think the President is going to let the markets dictate his decision. He feels strong in his belief that the regime has to change its ways, or there’s got to be a different regime.
“We e can see the scourge of Iran. We can see how it’s playing out. Everybody thought the ballistic missile inventory that they had was not a threat to them. It was only going to be a threat to little Satan Israel and big Satan the United States. And guess what? Everyone’s being deleteriously affected by it.
“So allowing a nation like this to get to a nuclear weapon, it’s unconscionable. They boasted at the table with me and Jared that they had material that was a week and a half to 10 days away from weapons grade that would be enough to make 11 bombs.
“If the President didn’t courageously make this decision, we’d wake up in a year, and there’d be the possibility of them having 25 or 30 bombs.”