WASHINGTON (AFP) — Britain’s King Charles III and US President Donald Trump hailed their countries’ longstanding ties at a White House state dinner Tuesday, with Trump 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.

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.

“We have militarily defeated that particular opponent,” Trump said at the White House dinner. “Charles agrees with me even more than I do — we’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump has repeatedly lambasted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his opposition to the Iran war, and there is no indication that King Charles has shown support for the US leader’s stance.

Nevertheless, both leaders strongly praised the “special relationship” between Britain and Washington, putting aside the transatlantic tensions, however briefly.

In his toast, Charles said he was “here to renew an indispensable alliance which has long been a cornerstone of prosperity and security.”

Yet Charles pointedly mentioned the importance of international alliances like NATO that Trump has repeatedly disparaged — and called for continued support for Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invasion.

“Together, we can meet the challenges of........

© The Times of Israel