Labour’s Wes Streeting today branded Donald Trump’s social media posts as ‘incendiary’, ‘provocative’, and ‘outrageous’ – but suggested Brits should ignore them.
The Health Secretary said the US President should be judged on ‘what he does, not just what he says’ following his expletive-laden comments about the Iran war.
Mr Trump recently vowed to bomb Iran ‘back to the Stone Ages’ if it did not agree to end its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
He also used his Truth Social site to order Tehran to ‘open the f****’ Strait’, and followed it up with warnings that a ‘whole civilisation will die’ without a deal.
The US and Iran eventually agreed a two-week ceasefire, but huge doubt has been cast over a longer-term deal after a 21-hour session of peace talks, hosted by Pakistan, ended without an agreement being reached in the early hours of Sunday.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Streeting said it was ‘obviously disappointing’ there had been no breakthrough in Islamabad, while also admitting the Iran conflict had ‘strained’ relations with Mr Trump’s administration.
But, despite the US President’s regular attacks on the Prime Minister for failing to offer greater military help, Mr Streeting insisted the so-called ‘special relationship’ between Britain and America remained.
‘You have to distinguish between some of the rhetoric which people might find shocking, and then the reality,’ he said.
Keir Starmer spoke with Mr Trump on Thursday night about the need for a ‘practical plan’ to get ships going through the Strait of Hormuz again amid suggestions Iran wants to charge vessels for passage.
In a phone call with the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq al Said on Sunday morning, the PM ‘urged both sides to find a way through’, according to a Downing Street spokeswoman.
She added that the two leaders agreed the US, Israel and Iran should avoid ‘any further escalation’.
‘His majesty updated on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, and the PM thanked him for Oman’s efforts to rescue sailors from vessels in distress in the region,’ the No10 spokeswoman said.
US Vice-President JD Vance is in Pakistan for peace negotiations with Iran this weekend, but he said Tehran had refused to commit to not build a nuclear weapon, casting uncertainty over the shaky two-week ceasefire.
Mr Streeting said: ‘It’s obviously disappointing that we haven’t yet seen a breakthrough in negotiations and an end to this war in Iran that is a sustainable one.
‘But as ever in diplomacy, you’re failing until you succeed. So while these talks may not have ended in success, that doesn’t mean there isn’t merit in continuing to try.
‘Clearly when you look at the impact of the war in Iran on this country, on other countries around the world who have no part in this war, it is in all of our interests for there to be a breakthrough and an end to this war.’
Asked about Mr Trump’s frequent social media posts throughout his increasingly-disastrous military action against Iran, Mr Streeting added: ‘Over the course of the last week, President Trump has said some pretty bold – in ‘Yes Minister’ language – incendiary, provocative, outrageous things on social media.
‘I think we’ve all come to learn that you judge President Trump through what he does, not just what he says.’
The Health Secretary admitted disagreements over Iran, Greenland and the Chagos Islands had ‘undoubtedly strained things with the Trump administration’.
But he added: ‘On so many other things our interests as the UK and the US are intertwined.
‘We are old and close friends, and we’ve got a shared outlook as democratic countries, and we’ve got shared security interests.
‘So all of that work, all of that partnership continues to go on. And the point I’m making is you have to to distinguish between some of the rhetoric, which people might find shocking, and then the reality.’
Should Brits ignore Trump’s posts and focus on his actions instead?
It came as Chancellor Rachel Reeves warned the Iran war will ‘come at a cost to British families and businesses’.
She said that although the scale of the costs were not known, the Government was committed to providing support to those who need it.
Energy prices have risen sharply during the ongoing closure of the Strait, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil was transported prior to the US and Israel’s decision to attack Iran.
Ms Reeves wrote in The Times: ‘I am going to be straight with people… the war in Iran will come at a cost to British families and business.
‘These are not costs I wanted, but they are costs we will have to respond to. As Chancellor, I have vowed that my economic approach to this crisis will be both responsive to a changing world and responsible in the national interest.
‘We don’t yet know the full scale of those costs, but the immediate priority must be to ensure that the ceasefire holds.
‘That is the best protection we have against higher costs at home and at the IMF meetings in Washington this week I will be working with allies on the action we can take to guarantee freedom of navigation, including the Strait of Hormuz, to keep energy supplies moving again.
‘But I know rising prices are being felt now. So, we are taking action to keep costs down for families and provide support for those who need it most.’
