LONDON — Downing Street said the United Kingdom's position on the Falkland Islands is resolute and unchanging, following a leaked Pentagon memo suggesting the United States could review its policy of endorsing European claims to longstanding "imperial possessions." The memo cited sovereignty over the Falklands as one such case.

"Sovereignty rests with the UK, and the islands' right to self-determination is paramount," Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesperson said. "That's been our consistent position and will remain the case."

The spokesperson said the defence and security relationship with the U.S. remained extremely strong. "We have got one of the most important security and defence relationships, if not the closest, that the world has ever seen, and it continues," he said. He said he could not answer hypothetical questions about whether the UK could defend the Falklands alone.

The memo was drawn up in response to White House frustration that other members of NATO did not provide sufficient support for the U.S.-led 38-day bombing campaign against Iran. It argued that Spain should be suspended from NATO for refusing to allow U.S. warplanes to be based in or fly over Spain during Operation Epic Fury.

"As President Trump has said, despite everything that the United States has done for our Nato allies, they were not there for us," Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said. "The Department of Defense will ensure that the president has credible options to ensure that our allies are no longer a paper tiger and instead do their part. We have no further comment on any internal deliberations to that effect."

Starmer largely kept the UK out of the Iran war, though Britain allowed the U.S. to fly B-1 and B-52 bombers on missions deemed defensive, including against Iranian missile launchers and anything used to target shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump repeatedly complained about the level of British military support, said Britain only wanted to help in protecting the Strait of Hormuz after the war was over, and compared Starmer to Neville Chamberlain.

"The PM has said very clearly that he won't be pressured on the Iran war," Starmer's spokesperson said. "He will always act in the national interests of the UK and will not be dragged into this war."

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, attending a meeting of EU leaders in Cyprus to discuss topics including NATO's mutual assistance clause, said his government had refused U.S. permission to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain. "We don't work on the basis of emails; we work with official documents and statements made by the US government," Sánchez said. "The Spanish government's position is clear: absolute cooperation with allies, but always within the framework of international law."

Britain recaptured the Falklands in June 1982 at the end of a 74-day conflict in which 255 members of the British armed forces, 649 Argentinians and three Falkland Islanders were killed. The U.S. provided discreet support for the UK during that conflict, including satellite and signals intelligence and Stinger hand-held missiles. The status of the islands remains disputed by Argentina, now led by President Javier Milei.