Falklanders should go back to England, Argentina’s vice-president said after Buenos Aires renewed its claim to the British overseas territory.

Argentina’s claim to what it calls the Malvinas was boosted when Donald Trump threatened to review the official US position on the islands after the UK refused to join his war on Iran.

Javier Milei, Argentina’s president and a close ally of Mr Trump, said last week that the “the Malvinas were, are and will always be Argentine”.

Victoria Villarruel, Mr Milei’s deputy, wrote on social media on Monday: “Today, more than ever, the Malvinas are Argentine.

“The discussion over the sovereignty of our islands is between states, therefore the United Kingdom must discuss bilaterally with Argentina the claim that we maintain for legal, historical and geographical reasons.

“The Kelpers are English people who live in Argentine territory; they are not part of the discussion. If they feel English, they should go back to the thousands of miles away where their country is.”

The nickname “Kelpers” given to the residents refers to the masses of seaweed surrounding the islands.

Argentina called for renewed talks over the future of the Falklands after the US suggested it could support its claims of sovereignty.

Pablo Quirno, the Argentine foreign minister, has demanded an end to British “colonialism” and new bilateral negotiations to achieve a “peaceful and definitive solution”.

The Falklands government rebuked the Trump administration after leaked Pentagon emails suggested that the US position on the islands was under review.

It said 99.8 per cent of Falklanders had voted for the islands to remain a British Overseas Territory in an independence referendum in 2013. Argentina views the vote as a sham, and previously accused the UK of implanting voters.

“The Falkland Islands has complete confidence in the commitment made by the UK Government to uphold and defend our right of self-determination,” the Falklands government added.

Sir Keir Starmer also hit back at the Trump administration shortly after the emails were leaked, while veterans accused Mr Trump of “bullying”.

Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, said that Britain’s commitment to the Falklands was “unwavering”.

Speaking after Mr Milei’s comments, she added: “The Falkland Islands are British – sovereignty rests with the UK, self-determination rests with the islanders. We could not be clearer about the UK’s position on the Falkland Islands. It’s long-standing. It’s unchanged.”

At the weekend, it emerged that Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, will travel to Argentina in the autumn to tell Mr Milei that keeping the Falklands British is “non-negotiable”.

The 1982 Falklands War claimed the lives of 255 British servicemen, three islanders and 649 Argentinian personnel. The conflict started after Argentina invaded the islands and Margaret Thatcher sent a military taskforce, which won them back 10 weeks later.

On the 43rd anniversary of the war on April 2 last year, Mr Milei said he wanted to turn Argentina into a powerful nation so that Falklanders would choose Buenos Aires over Britain.

A year earlier, he had publicly accepted that the Falkland Islands were “in the hands of the UK”, pledging to get them back through diplomatic channels while admitting that there was no “instant solution”.

Last week, The Telegraph revealed that the US had pressured Britain to accept a deal in which Washington would arm Argentina with F-16 fighter jets.

Argentina took a delivery of American F-16s from Denmark late last year – a rare example of Western allies arming Buenos Aires.

Britain has a strict ban on exporting any weapons or components to Argentina because of competing sovereignty claims over the Falkland Islands.

Although Britain had no veto over the F-16 deal, it could have raised objections in Washington and Denmark to try to prevent the transfer going ahead.

Three sources told The Telegraph that the Foreign Office was put under pressure so the deal could go through. One said: “There were meetings in the UK and Britain was told in no uncertain terms that this is how the deal would be.”

Last year, Mr Trump handed Mr Milei a £15bn bailout.