King Charles, Trump toast ties despite Iran tensions

Britain’s King Charles and Donald Trump hailed their countries’ longstanding ties at a White House state dinner Tuesday – despite the US president claiming the monarch agreed with him on Iran’s nuclear weapons.

Over a lavish meal, Charles echoed the tone of his earlier speech to Congress in which he urged London and Washington to stick together, without directly mentioning the tensions over the US-Israeli war with Tehran.

But in his toast to a gala dinner attended by tech titans and golfer Rory McIlroy, Trump made his first public comments on the sensitive topic during the four-day visit by the British royals.

The king received a warm reception from lawmakers in Congress as he urged the United States on Tuesday to stand firm with its Western allies, and broached topics like the environment that Trump often scorns.

Charles stressed that “unyielding resolve” was needed to secure a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine, which has been fighting a full-scale invasion by Russia since 2022.

‘No closer friends’

In just the second speech to Congress by a British monarch following his mother, Elizabeth II, in 1991, Charles also pointed to shared democratic traditions that opponents have accused Trump of undermining.
He noted that the British Magna Carta had been cited in more than 160 US Supreme Court cases, highlighting— to rapt applause from the opposition Democrats — the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances.

Trump earlier hailed Britain as America’s closest ally as he welcomed Charles and Queen Camilla to the White House with pomp, ceremony, a 21-gun salute and a flypast.

“In the centuries since we won our independence, Americans have had no closer friends than the British,” Trump said.

The visit comes at a delicate moment, with Trump criticising Britain over its stance on Iran and other policies.

Despite the tensions, the US president struck a jovial tone, joking about his Scottish-born mother having “a crush on Charles” and making a jibe about the British weather.

Security has been tight during the visit following an alleged assassination attempt against Trump at a weekend Washington media gala.

“Such acts of violence will never succeed,” Charles said.

The royals will visit New York on Wednesday, touring the 9/11 memorial, before departing Thursday for Bermuda.