Trump says 'great friend' King Charles 'would have helped us with Iran if it was up to him' in fresh swipe at Keir Starmer

By PERKIN AMALARAJ, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 09:10, 30 April 2026 | Updated: 09:21, 30 April 2026 Donald Trump has claimed that his 'great friend' King Charles 'would have helped us with Iran if it was up to him.' In a fresh swipe at Sir Keir Starmer for not sending British military assets to the Middle East to assist his war against Iran, Trump said: 'The King is fantastic. We spent a lot of time together.  'We talked a lot. We talked about this also. He loves his country, and he's a great King. And he's a great friend.  'I think if he were doing that, if that were up to him, he would have probably helped us with Iran.' Trump added that was 'very disappointed' in NATO after the US 'asked them to do some things about Ukraine and Iran.' In a speech on Tuesday night during a state banquet, Trump claimed that King Charles agreed with him that Iran should never be allowed nuclear weapons.  He said at the white-tie event: 'We’re doing a little Middle East work right now … and we’re doing very well.  'We have militarily defeated that particular opponent, and we’re never going to let that opponent ever, Charles agrees with me even more than I do, we’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.  'They know that, and they’ve known it right now, very powerfully.' Donald Trump (pictured) has claimed that his 'great friend' King Charles'would have helped us with Iran if it was up to him Right royal chuckle: King Charles and Mr Trump share a laugh at the White House state dinner, where the monarch filled his speech with jokes – including about the Boston Tea Party At that same dinner, King Charles managed to get one over Trump following bold comments he made about the US' role on the world stage in the 20th century.   The US president earlier claimed at the World Economic Forum in January that, without American intervention in the Second World War, Europeans would now be speaking 'German and a little bit of Japanese'.  But Charles was quick to flip the historical script in front of assembled dignitaries in Washington. 'You recently stated, Mr. President, that without the United States, European countries would speak German. Dare I say that without us, you would speak French?' the monarch quipped, provoking laughter from the audience.  The light-hearted barb did not go unnoticed in Paris. Within hours, Macron responded on social media in English, joking: 'That would be chic!'  'If ever… See you at the Francophonie Summit,' the Élysée Palace added. Yesterday, King Charles met with New York's mayor Zohran Mamdani, who suggested that he return the Koh-i-Noor diamond to India just hours before they spoke.   Mamdani shook hands with King Charles III just hours after demanding he return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond to India Mamdani shook hands with King Charles III at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum on Wednesday afternoon during a wreath-laying ceremony.  Previously, when asked what the democratic socialist mayor would say to the king, Mamdani told reporters he would demand one of the most famous British Crown Jewels be returned. 'If I were to speak to the king separately from [the ceremony], I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond,' he said.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.