Trump puts Iceland under U.S. flag, prompting diplomatic row

Icelandic Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir called Long in for a meeting following the publication of the image on Trump’s Truth Social platform.

“It was made clear at the meeting that the post was entirely inappropriate,” Iceland’s Foreign Ministry said in response to an inquiry from national broadcaster RÚV.

The map showed the U.S. flag covering the United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The entire area was labelled “United States of America.” Trump published the image without providing an explanation.

The post comes amid repeated statements by the U.S. president about bringing Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, under American control.

Trump has not publicly proposed taking control of Iceland. However, during his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, he appeared to confuse Iceland with Greenland several times while discussing U.S. control of the Danish territory.

Before taking up his post, Long reportedly joked that Iceland would become the 52nd U.S. state and that he would serve as its governor. He later apologized, saying the remark was not serious.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Trump had linked his failure to receive the Nobel Peace Prize to his stance on Greenland, claiming that global security depended on the United States gaining “complete and total control” of the territory.