Britain was pressured by the United States into permitting the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Argentina, it has been reported, in a revelation that has deepened alarm over the security of the Falkland Islands as Donald Trump signals he may support Buenos Aires’s claim to the territory.
Foreign Office officials were reportedly told “in no uncertain terms” not to oppose the deal, which was agreed by the Biden administration in 2024 before Labour came to power. One Argentine source said Washington had made a “strong” case for the sale in secret talks with Britain, while other sources described the UK as having been pressured into standing aside to allow the transfer of the Mach 2.05 combat aircraft — each costing $35 million (£25.9 million) per unit.
Argentina took delivery of the jets in December last year, with President Javier Milei describing them as “guardian angels.” The sale bypassed a British arms export ban imposed on Argentina during the Falklands War in 1982, a ban that has technically remained in place for more than four decades.
The revelations arrive at a deeply uncomfortable moment for the British government. Trump has this week hinted he would back Argentina’s claim to the islands, a move widely interpreted as retaliation against NATO allies — including the UK — that refused to grant the US access, basing rights or overflight permissions for its military campaign against Iran. An internal Pentagon memo, reported by Reuters, floated the possibility of reassessing American diplomatic support for European “imperial possessions” such as the Falklands, and raised the prospect of removing Spain from NATO entirely over its own refusal to cooperate with operations against Iran.
Milei, a close Trump ally who has repeatedly asserted Argentina’s claim to the islands, this week said his government was doing “everything humanly possible” to bring the Falklands back under Argentine control.
The political reaction in Britain has been fierce. Downing Street insisted the status of the islands “could not be clearer,” with sovereignty firmly resting with the UK and self-determination paramount. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed the American position as “nonsense,” while the Liberal Democrats called for King Charles’s scheduled state visit to the United States next week to be cancelled in protest.
Veterans of the 1982 conflict have been among the most vocal critics. Simon Weston, the Welsh Guardsman who suffered severe burns when the Sir Galahad landing ship was struck by Argentine jets, called Trump a “schoolyard bully” and warned that his posturing could provide Argentina with a pretext for another invasion attempt. The war cost the lives of 255 British servicemen, 649 Argentinians and three Falklands civilians.
The islands, home to around 3,500 people, have been under British rule since 1833, and voted by 99.8 per cent to remain a British Overseas Territory in a 2013 referendum. Argentina has continued to dispute their status regardless.
Trump has also insulted the Royal Navy, referring to its aircraft carriers as “toys,” and previously described Sir Keir Starmer as “no Winston Churchill” after Britain initially declined American requests to use two British bases to launch attacks on Iran. The UK later agreed to permit defensive missions in the region aimed at protecting civilians, including British nationals.
