🔶 The Falkland Islands have once again become a point of dispute between Argentina and the UK

More than 40 years after the Falklands War of 1982 between Argentina and the UK over sovereignty over these islands—an armed conflict that ended with the Argentine forces losing control of the islands—Argentina has escalated its dispute with Britain over this group of islands in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Javier Milei, the President of Argentina, has again called for the return of the Falkland Islands to his country and announced sanctions against oil companies operating in the area under British sovereignty.

In a televised address on the evening of September 3, 2026, Milei called the islands Argentine territory and said they are “under British occupation” and that Argentina must reclaim the Falkland Islands.

The Chilean president said he had issued an order against companies that search for or extract oil in the waters around the islands. Referring to the area’s natural resources, he said “Argentina must act quickly,” stressing that the Falklands issue should be placed beyond domestic political differences and asking the public to take a unified stance on the matter.

The UK government, while rejecting Argentina’s claim to sovereignty over the islands, reiterated its position and said sovereignty over the islands lies with the UK and that “the wishes of the Falkland Islands residents are decisive.”

UK Defense Minister Wes Streeting also wrote on the social media platform X that “the Argentine president’s evening speech was more about Argentine domestic politics than about the Falkland Islands.”

Streeting said: “The Falkland Islands are British because their residents want to be British.” He described London’s commitment to the islands as “absolute and unshakeable.”

The dispute comes as U.S. President Donald Trump, in response to the question of whether the United States would support the UK in the event of a new conflict over the Falkland Islands, avoided stating a clear position.

In an interview with the British network GB News, while referring to the 1982 war between Argentina and the UK, Trump said that in that war Britain “took the islands back by force.” However, although he did not give a direct answer about whether the United States would back the UK in a new dispute, he criticized Britain for not participating in the U.S. war with Iran, and claimed that Keir Starmer, in response to his request to send several ships, said, “Britain doesn’t have such an option.”

📌 Read the full text of the report on the website of Deutsche Welle Farsi.