Hello John and Doves,Back in January I wrote a letter about the UK and the Chagos Islands. The UK has a deal going to hand over the Chagos Islands to the island country of Mauritius. PM Starmer says this is a 'done deal - no way out'. Mauritius believes this deal is a 'done deal' also. But Parliament has the final word.The island of Diego Garcia is 'protected' in the deal - the UK has a very important military base there that involves US access. I wrote that "We use Diego Garcia for actions in the Middle East" if something happened to access to this base "this could compromise future operations".President Trump has changed his mind on the Chagos Island deal and now he's not happy with it. Seems this has resulted in the 'denial of use of UK bases'.Here is an article concerning where this deal stands now, dated 19 Feb 2026. It is believed that the House of Lords will look again at the Chagos agreement in "several weeks". The Conservatives in the UK are pushing "the Trump administration to block the plan, which Downing Street has said can only go ahead with US buy-in."The foreign secretary of the UK is expected in DC next week where he will discuss the Chagos plan. He said the deal is "now dead in the water". "It's impossible for the deal to proceed without the support of our American allies and Labour will soon run out of time to put anything before parliament."The US has B-2 bombers in Fairford,Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia. President Trump noted that "Should Iran decide not to make a deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia and the airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime". The UK can block use of these bases.
Trump changed mind on Chagos deal ‘after UK blocked use of Diego Garcia for Iran strikes’ | Chagos Islands | The Guardian
President Trump has backpedaled on his approval of this deal....he's concerned about the 'influence' of China in Mauritius.And now, surprise surprise! The UK has denied the US permission to use its airbases in pre-emptive strikes on Iran."The British government has not given permission for the US to use UK military bases to support potential US strikes on Iran, the BBC understands.""The US has in the past used RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire and the UK overseas territory of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, to carry out strikes in the Middle East."Maybe Parliament will let the whole deal just collapse...for now. And President Trump's opinion will be a moot point. As they don't want Iran to develop a nuclear weapon either.Interesting timing....Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!Maranatha!Chance