Iceland summons US ambassador after Trump posts map depicting foreign territories under American flag

Diplomatic summons in Reykjavik

The Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned United States Ambassador Billy Long on Monday, 7 September 2026, following a social media post by US President Donald Trump depicting Iceland and other sovereign nations as American territory. Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir called in Long to lodge a formal objection to the graphic, which Trump published without a caption on Truth Social. The map displayed the American flag draped over Iceland, Greenland, Canada, Mexico, Central America, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, and Caribbean territories including Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and the French Antilles, labeling the landmass "United States of America".

The position was clearly expressed that the post was completely inappropriate.

International pushback across North America and Europe

The social media graphic prompted formal responses from heads of government across the regions shown under the American flag. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum published a statement rejecting foreign claims over Mexican territory, stating that the country remains independent and sovereign. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, speaking to the news agency Ritzau in Nuuk, reiterated that Greenlanders have consistently rejected integration into the United States. Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, publicly questioned how the world would respond if leaders in Beijing or Moscow published maps claiming entire neighboring continents.

We reaffirm once again that Mexico is not and will never be a colony or protectorate of any foreign country. We are proud to be a free, independent, and sovereign country.

The Greenlandic government and the Greenlandic people have said again and again that they do not want to be American. I hope no one is in any doubt about that, either in the United States or the rest of the world.

Timing and European investment package

Trump posted the graphic during a period of frequent social media activity over the Labor Day holiday weekend, publishing around 60 posts on Sunday and 37 posts within a ten-hour period on Monday. These posts included AI-generated imagery depicting Trump confronting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and suggestions to rename New Mexico as "New America". The map post occurred hours after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Greenland to announce a €200 million ($232.50 million) investment package aimed at strengthening ties between the European Union and the resource-rich Arctic territory.

Security agreements and domestic politics

The diplomatic tension unfolded shortly after Iceland held a national referendum on 29 August 2026, in which voters opted against reopening accession negotiations with the European Union. Iceland has had no standing army since establishing independence in 1944, relying on NATO and a 1951 bilateral defense agreement with Washington for territorial defense. Ambassador Long, who formally began his diplomatic posting in Reykjavik in August 2026, had previously drawn scrutiny in Iceland after apologizing for a private remark in which he joked about becoming governor of the 52nd US state.