United States President Donald Trump accused the United Kingdom on Tuesday of “great stupidity” for agreeing to hand the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius.

“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

The comments represent a major reversal from Trump, who had previously endorsed the deal.

The agreement will see Britain return the archipelago to its former colony Mauritius while paying to lease the strategically vital US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island.

Britain retained control of the Chagos Islands after Mauritius gained independence in the 1960s.

However, it forcibly evicted thousands of Chagos Islanders, who have since pursued multiple legal claims for compensation in British courts.

In 2019, the International Court of Justice recommended that Britain return the archipelago to Mauritius following decades of legal battles.