President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing a proposal to purchase the Chagos Islands directly from Mauritius, a move that would sidestep United Kingdom officials entirely and secure long-term American control over the strategically critical Diego Garcia military base in the central Indian Ocean. The proposal was first reported by The Telegraph, and the White House has not confirmed or denied it.
What the reported plan would involve
Under the terms described in The Telegraph’s reporting, the United States would work around the UK’s involvement in the sovereignty dispute by first ensuring the islands are granted independent sovereignty, at which point Washington could negotiate a purchase directly with Mauritius. The plan is attributed to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is said to have brought it to Trump‘s attention. However, it is reportedly not the leading option among several proposals currently under consideration by the administration.
The move would represent an extraordinary departure from the existing framework for the islands’ future, which has been managed primarily through negotiations between the United Kingdom and Mauritius. That process came to an abrupt halt in April after the United States withdrew its support for a deal that would have transferred sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius. The UK was subsequently forced to shelve the legislation required to complete that handover, leaving the situation unresolved.
Why Diego Garcia makes the islands so important
The Diego Garcia base, situated approximately 2,360 miles from Iran in the heart of the Indian Ocean, is one of the most strategically positioned military installations in the world. It hosts an airbase capable of handling U.S. long-range missiles and has been an active asset since the ongoing conflict involving the U.S. and Israel against Iran began in late February. Iran has launched multiple strikes against the joint base since the war began, including one in late March that was intercepted by a U.S. warship.
In March, the UK granted the United States permission to launch strikes against Iranian missile installations from the base, a decision Trump publicly described as having come too late and that drew a direct warning from Iran’s foreign minister to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that permitting the use of UK bases for military operations against Iran was placing British lives in jeopardy.
Security concerns driving U.S. interest
Part of what has complicated the earlier UK-Mauritius deal, and what appears to be motivating the reported American proposal, is concern within the Trump administration about the geopolitical alignment of Mauritius. Several U.S. officials are said to have worried that handing the islands to Mauritius, a country with close ties to China, could create openings for espionage that would compromise the operational security of the Diego Garcia base. Purchasing the islands outright would eliminate that risk by placing the territory under direct American control.
Chagossians still waiting for resolution
Absent from much of the geopolitical maneuvering is the voice of the Chagossian people themselves, many of whom were displaced from the islands decades ago and have been seeking the right to return ever since. A six-person delegation from the Chagos Refugees Group visited the United Kingdom last week to press for a resolution, expressing full support for completing a sovereignty agreement that would restore their connection to their birthplace. The delegation leader described the issue as having been absorbed into British political disputes in a way that has prevented any genuine progress toward addressing the rights and welfare of the displaced community.
The group made clear that the fundamental issue for Chagossians remains the right to live in their homeland, a right that has gone unaddressed through successive rounds of negotiations focused primarily on military access and geopolitical leverage rather than the people whose lives were most directly affected by the original displacement.
Whether Trump ultimately moves forward with a purchase offer, pursues one of the other options reportedly under consideration or defers the matter entirely remains unclear. The White House has not responded publicly to the report.
Source: The Guardian and The Telegraph, as reported June 7, 2026.