US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper refused to answer questions after a brief appearance before reporters in Washington, despite being pressed over reports that Britain will not allow the US to use bases on the Chagos Islands for potential strikes on Iran. The tense encounter came as US President Donald Trump publicly attacked Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius while leasing back Diego Garcia to preserve US operations there, a deal Washington initially supported but which Trump has since labelled a “big mistake” and “great stupidity.”