Argentine President Javier Milei escalated his country’s dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands on Thursday. The British control the islands, but Milei is threatening sanctions over the deep-sea Sea Lion oil project, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of the islands, where British company Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum plan to begin drilling in the coming months and start pumping oil in 2028. Argentina considers the project an illegal exploitation of resources in waters it claims as its own.
Milei said, “Argentina will not stand idly by. Any further advance on the Malvinas Islands will be considered a violation of our national security.”
He also praised President Trump for saying Washington could reconsider its neutral stance on the islands’ sovereignty.
Milei cast Trump’s comments as proof that his close relationship with the U.S. president — criticized by political opponents as overly deferential — was paying dividends, the AP reports.
“The United States is considering this change in position because it knows that Argentina has a reliable partner, aligned with Western values, in a strategically important position that can be a valuable ally in the decades to come,” Milei said in a nationally televised speech.
The UK wouldn’t let us use our joint base or even fly over their airspace during the Iran War.
‘We need to recover the Falklands’
The Falkland Islands are in the sights of the Argentine government following comments by Donald Trump that the U.S. is “reviewing” the situation pic.twitter.com/LCXFVdYcXs
— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 4, 2026
Patagonia is 300 miles from Argentina. They are 8,000 miles from the United Kingdom.
Trump received praise from Milei after saying, “Your country’s not doing well. Don’t forget — you get a big percentage of your oil from the Strait of Hormuz, and you weren’t there to help me.”
“Your country was not there to help me.”
🚨 HUGE DEVELOPMENT: Asked if he’d step in to help the UK maintain the Falklands as a territory if Argentina invades, President Trump says they ABANDONED him in Iran, so why should he help?
He never forgets…
“Your country’s not doing well. Don’t forget — you get a big percent… pic.twitter.com/mELS4agXTQ
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 3, 2026