BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Sept 4, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - President Javier Milei said Thursday that the "winds of change" favored Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands, pointing to Washington's readiness to review its neutrality on his country's territorial dispute with Britain.

"There are winds of change in the world that are favorable to our claim," Milei said in a nationally televised address about the South Atlantic archipelago, a British territory. Britain and Argentina fought a war over the islands in 1982.

Control of the islands, referred to by Argentines as Las Malvinas, remains a highly emotive issue in Argentina and periodically leads to tensions with Britain. Argentina players held up a banner saying "The Falklands are Argentine" after beating England 2-1 in the World Cup semi-final earlier this year.

The fate of the islands has hit headlines again in recent days, with US President Donald Trump threatening to wade into the dispute and a British-Israeli oil project near the islands causing anger in Argentina. Flanked by cabinet members, Milei assured Argentina would not "stand idly by" and announced tougher sanctions on firms linked to Falklands oil projects.

On Tuesday, Argentine Falklands War veterans and environmental lawyers filed a lawsuit to halt the project promoted by the British company Rockhopper and the Israeli company Navitas in waters north of the islands.

Milei said the project violated a United Nations resolution calling on both sides to desist from unilateral actions in the Falklands while the dispute is ongoing. "We will not allow it," he said.

"If we allow it, we will be creating an incentive for the British government to deepen the occupation of the islands and the exploitation of our resources." His address comes as his approval ratings plummet, just over a year before he seeks re-election.

Polls show only around 34 percent of Argentines supporting his actions.