Overview
- The UK government, which announced Saturday it was pausing the transfer, said it will advance the deal only with U.S. support.
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed the accord in May last year to return the archipelago to Mauritius under a 100-year lease for the Diego Garcia base.
- A parliamentary bill to carry out the transfer has lapsed, with officials cited by the BBC saying a new measure is unlikely soon.
- Donald Trump initially signaled assent to the plan, then in January denounced the return on Truth Social and called it a “big mistake.”
- Iranian state media reported missile strikes on Diego Garcia, and a UK official confirmed an unsuccessful attack, underscoring the base’s strategic weight.