A row over the Falkland Islands has escalated after Argentine President Javier Milei reasserted his country's claim to the territory and moved to sanction firms involved in oil exploration around the islands. Amid the growing dispute, Reform UK's Robert Jenrick claimed Nigel Farage would "crush" Argentina and deploy "every lever of the British state" to defend the islands if he became prime minister, using the row to criticise the current government's response.

Milei's office announced sanction proceedings on Saturday against 45 people and companies linked to oil projects near the Falklands, with further action possible against related shareholders and service providers. The tension follows comments from US President Donald Trump suggesting Washington would not necessarily back Britain in a future Falklands conflict, despite having supported the UK during the 1982 war, in which 255 British and 655 Argentine service personnel died. UK ministers, including Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, have reaffirmed Britain's "unwavering" commitment to the islands, whose residents voted 99.8% in favour of remaining British in a 2013 referendum, though Downing Street has ruled out a formal diplomatic response for now.