Diplomacy & Geopolitics
Iceland summons US envoy over Trump map
Iceland summoned the US ambassador after President Donald Trump posted a map that appeared to show Iceland and several other territories as part of the United States.
Iceland's foreign ministry said Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir summoned the ambassador to say the image was “wholly inappropriate.”
Trump posted the image on social media on Monday without further explanation. It showed North America with Canada, Greenland, Mexico, much of Central America, the Caribbean and Iceland coloured with the US flag. The landmass was labelled “United States of America.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, speaking during a visit to Greenland, told Ritzau that Greenland's government and people had said repeatedly that they do not want to be American.
Iceland has not had a military since gaining independence in 1944 and relies on Washington for its security. It is a founding member of NATO and has a 1951 bilateral defence agreement with the United States.
Trump's repeated threats to take control of Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory fewer than 300 kilometres from Iceland, and his trade dispute with Canada have already concerned Iceland.
Update
Iceland identified Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir as the minister who summoned the US ambassador.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Greenland's government and people have repeatedly said they do not want to be American.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 11:43:03 UTC.
Update
The map also appeared to include the Caribbean as part of the United States.
Trump posted around 100 messages on Truth Social over the Labor Day weekend, according to an AFP count.
Trump also posted a cartoon of himself playing ice hockey against Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Canada's retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars in US products took effect Tuesday.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 11:32:32 UTC.
Update
Iceland's foreign ministry said the foreign minister summoned the US ambassador on Monday to convey that the image was wholly inappropriate.
The image was posted without further explanation.
Iceland has not had a military since independence in 1944 and relies on Washington for security.
Iceland is a founding NATO member and has a 1951 bilateral defence agreement with the United States.
The episode follows Trump's repeated threats to take control of Greenland and his trade dispute with Canada.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 10:00:18 UTC.
Update
Iceland's foreign ministry said the image was "wholly inappropriate."
The ministry said the US ambassador was summoned on Monday.
Trump's social media image showed a map in which Canada, Greenland, Mexico and Iceland were coloured with the US flag.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 09:45:33 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Trump did not explain the image when he posted it.
Source
AFP news report published on .