US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that 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 had repeatedly criticised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for ⁠what Trump calls a 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 than I do — ​we’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.”

In ​his own comments following Trump, Charles did not speak about Iran or the war. The ‌king ⁠is not a spokesman for the British government.

Asked about the state dinner comments, the British Embassy in Washington referred Reuters to Buckingham Palace, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a speech to Congress ​earlier, Charles made no ​direct mention ⁠of the Iran war, but referred to Trump’s criticism of NATO, highlighted the importance of continued US help for ​Ukraine in its war with Russia, and the dangers ​of isolationism.

Both ⁠Britain and the United States have maintained over the years that Tehran should not develop nuclear weapons.

Tehran, which does not have nuclear weapons, denies seeking ⁠them ​but says it has the right to develop ​nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.