Why is Donald Trump obsessed with the Chagos Islands?
Trump, Starmer, and the mysterious islands fracturing the 'special relationship'.
An episode of the The Global Story podcast, hosted by BBC World Service, titled "Why is Donald Trump obsessed with the Chagos Islands?" was published on March 12, 2026 and runs 26 minutes.
March 12, 2026 ·26m · The Global Story
Summary
At a recent White House event, President Trump assessed how America’s allies have responded to the US-Israel war in Iran. He praised some, but was angry with others, notably Britain and its prime minister Keir Starmer. His anger with the UK seemed to centre around a British-owned island in the Indian Ocean, which he referred to as “that stupid island”. The island is one of about 60, known as the Chagos Islands. Tropical, remote, and very mysterious. So mysterious that one person who knows what goes on there said that if you did too, it would give you vertigo. The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent James Landale joins us to discuss what happens on the Chagos Islands that makes them so important to President Trump. What have they got to do with Iran, and why are they at the centre of an ever-growing diplomatic row? Producer: Lucy Pawle Executive producer: James Shield Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: File photo of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago and site of a major United States military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Credit: Reuters
Episode Description
At a recent White House event, President Trump assessed how America’s allies have responded to the US-Israel war in Iran. He praised some, but was angry with others, notably Britain and its prime minister Keir Starmer. His anger with the UK seemed to centre around a British-owned island in the Indian Ocean, which he referred to as “that stupid island”.
The island is one of about 60, known as the Chagos Islands. Tropical, remote, and very mysterious. So mysterious that one person who knows what goes on there said that if you did too, it would give you vertigo.
The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent James Landale joins us to discuss what happens on the Chagos Islands that makes them so important to President Trump. What have they got to do with Iran, and why are they at the centre of an ever-growing diplomatic row?
Producer: Lucy Pawle
Executive producer: James Shield
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: File photo of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago and site of a major United States military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Credit: Reuters
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