Sri Lanka, April 29 -- President Donald Trump said on Tuesday Britain's King Charles did not want Iran to have a nuclear weapon, introducing the fraught subject of the Middle East conflict into comments at a White House state dinner for the visiting royal.

The event was held on the second day of a four-day visit to the United States at a tense time in ties, after Trump has repeatedly criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for ⁠what Trump calls lack of help in prosecuting the Iran war.

"We're doing a little Middle East work right now and we're doing very well," Trump said at the dinner.

"We have militarily defeated that particular opponent, and we're never going to let that opponent ever - Charles agrees with me even more ...