Iceland's Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Gunnarsdottir summoned newly appointed US Ambassador Billy Long on Monday to register a formal protest.
The diplomatic protest followed US President Donald Trump sharing an uncaptioned Truth Social post showing Iceland, Greenland, Canada, and Mexico draped in the American flag.
Iceland's foreign ministry officially conveyed to the US envoy that the map depicting the region as United States territory was completely inappropriate.
Iceland summoned US ambassador Billy Long on Monday after President Donald Trump posted an image showing Iceland and several other countries under the American flag, local broadcaster RUV reported. Long only formally took up the post last month.
Trump posted the image on his Truth Social platform without explanation. Iceland’s Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Gunnarsdottir called in Long and delivered a formal protest, RUV reported. “The position was clearly expressed that the post was completely inappropriate,” the foreign ministry told RUV.
Flag Map Details
The image showed the United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean covered by the US flag. The entire landmass was labelled “United States of America”. Trump posted it on Truth Social without any explanation or added comment.
Greenland Tensions
Trump has asserted in recent years that the US must acquire Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous Danish territory. Those assertions triggered tensions between Washington and Copenhagen, both founding NATO members. The issue also caused wider concern across Europe, where Trump’s comments were seen as testing allied trust.
Regional Political Context
Iceland last month voted against reopening European Union membership talks in a referendum where Trump’s designs on Greenland had featured in the background. Some supporters of restarting those talks had argued that concern over US reliability was a reason to consider closer ties with the EU. Analysts, however, said domestic economic concerns ultimately drove the result.
Trump’s post also came hours after the European Commission announced a €200 million ($232.50 million) investment in Greenland during a visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The brief gave the exchange rate as $1 = 0.8602 euros.
Danish Response
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen spoke to Danish news agency Ritzau in Nuuk and pointed to Greenland’s repeated opposition to becoming part of the US.
“The Greenlandic government and the Greenlandic people have said again and again that they do not want to be American,” she said.
“I hope no one is in any doubt about that, either in the United States or the rest of the world.”
