Sovereignty of Falklands rests with the UK, Britain tells the US

The coast of the West Falkland, of the Falkland Islands, is seen from an airplane May 20, 2018. (REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci)

LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - The sovereignty of the Falkland Islands rests with Britain, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday after an internal Pentagon email suggested reviewing the U.S. position on the Falklands as punishment for Britain's stance on the Iran war.

"We could not be clearer about the UK's position on the Falkland Islands. It is longstanding, it is unchanged," the spokesperson told reporters.

"Sovereignty rests with the UK and the islands' right to self-determination is paramount. It's been our consistent position and will remain the case," the spokesperson said, adding that Britain had expressed that position "clearly and consistently to successive U.S. administrations." 

The Pentagon email outlined options for the United States to punish NATO allies it believes failed to support U.S. operations in the Iran war, including considering reassessing U.S. diplomatic support for longstanding European "imperial possessions," such as the Falkland Islands near Argentina.

Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno responded to the reports by reiterating his country's willingness to resume bilateral negotiations for a "peaceful and definitive solution."

Quirno characterized the current status of the islands, which are sometimes called the Malvinas, as a "colonial situation" and expressed gratitude for international support regarding Argentina's claims.

"By history, by right, and by conviction: the Malvinas are Argentine," Quirno said in a post on X.

Britain and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982 over the islands after Argentina made a failed bid to take them. Some 650 Argentine and 255 British service personnel died before Argentina surrendered.

Asked if Starmer thought this was an attempt by the U.S. to put pressure on him to join the Iran war, his spokesperson said: "He has spoken about that and he has also spoken about how that pressure does not affect him, and he will always act in the national interest, and that will always remain the case."

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Andrew MacAskill in London; Additional reporting by Cassandra Garrison in Buenos Aires; Editing by William James and Matthew Lewis)