Iceland Summons US Ambassador After Trump Posts Map Showing Island Under American Flag

A boat leaves the harbor after Iceland rejected EU accession talks in a close-fought referendum in Reykjavik, Iceland, August 30, 2026. (Reuters)

08:08-8 September 2026 AD ـ 26 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

A boat leaves the harbor after Iceland rejected EU accession talks in a close-fought referendum in Reykjavik, Iceland, August 30, 2026. (Reuters)

Iceland summoned the ‌US ambassador on Monday after President Donald Trump posted an image on social media showing the island and other countries covered by the American flag, local broadcaster RUV said.

The map showed the United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean covered by the US flag, with the entire landmass labelled "United States of America".

Trump posted the image on his Truth Social platform without explanation.

Iceland's Foreign Minister, Thorgerdur Gunnarsdottir, called in Billy Long, the US ambassador ‌to Iceland, ‌who only formally took up the post ‌last ⁠month, RUV reported.

"The ⁠position was clearly expressed that the post was completely inappropriate," the foreign ministry told RUV.

The US State Department, the US embassies in Copenhagen and Reykjavik, and the US consulate in Nuuk did not immediately reply to requests for comment. The Icelandic foreign ministry also did not ⁠reply to a request for comment.

Trump's assertions ‌in recent years that ‌the US must acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, sparked tensions between ‌Washington and Copenhagen, both founding NATO members, and more ‌broadly across Europe.

Iceland last month voted against reopening EU membership talks in a referendum where Trump's designs on Greenland had featured as a backdrop.

Some supporters of starting talks had cited ‌concern about US reliability as a reason to consider closer EU ties, though analysts said ⁠domestic ⁠economic concerns ultimately drove the result.

Trump's post came hours after the European Commission announced a €200 million ($232.50 million) investment in Greenland during a visit by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, speaking to Danish news agency Ritzau in Nuuk, said the message from Greenland's government and people had been consistent.

"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."

Russia Pounds Kyiv, Ending Three-Day Halt for US Talks

Residents stand at a site of a Russian missile attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 8, 2026. (Reuters)

09:27-8 September 2026 AD ـ 26 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Russia Pounds Kyiv, Ending Three-Day Halt for US Talks

Residents stand at a site of a Russian missile attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 8, 2026. (Reuters)

Russian missiles and drones pounded Kyiv overnight, killing two people and sending smoke billowing above the Ukrainian capital, ending Moscow's temporary halt to strikes on the city.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the pause in attacks as US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited the Russian and Ukrainian capitals at the weekend.

AFP reporters in the city heard fresh explosions ringing out in the early hours of Tuesday, triggering fires and sending locals down into basements and metro stations for shelter.

"The moment the US president's peace envoys left, Putin launched another massive, horrific attack against Kyiv, damaging residential areas and killing at least two people," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media.

"His ballistic missiles speak louder than his words on diplomacy."

Witkoff and Kushner's trips provided no immediate breakthrough in ending the four-and-a-half-year war, but represented Washington's reengagement with trying to broker a deal between the two sides, which had been on hold for months.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said people were trapped in a residential building after the strikes.

Russia's army said it had a carried out a "massive strike" on military-industrial sites, logistics hubs and storage centers in Kyiv and its suburbs.

Civilian deaths in Ukraine are running at their highest rate since the first months of Russia's invasion, according to statistics verified by the United Nations.

In the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula, Russian-installed officials said a Ukrainian attack killed two people.

- US proposals -

The strikes came hours after Witkoff touted "substantive progress" in the discussions with Ukraine and Russia, raising the prospect of reviving three-way peace talks to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

"President Trump is working hard to stop the killing and work towards a lasting and durable peace," he said on X.

Witkoff and Kushner met Putin in Moscow on Saturday, before holding separate talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in their first official trip to Kyiv.

The Kremlin announced Monday that it did not rule out three-way talks, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling reporters "it is too early to say anything about the venue or the exact dates at this stage".

Zelensky told US news outlet Axios that the United States was pushing to de-escalate the conflict ahead of the long winter.

Russia has struck Ukraine's energy grid each winter since invading in February 2022, cutting power and heating to millions in temperatures as low as -20C.

Zelensky has said the weekend talks included US proposals around energy facilities, grain shipments and oil and gas exports, but declined to give further details.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday appeared to rule out a Turkish proposal for a truce on strikes in the Black Sea, saying it was "unrealistic" and "impossible to monitor".

The two sides appear no close to agreeing on how the war should end.

Moscow is demanding Ukraine cede territory in its eastern Donetsk region that it still controls and renounce Western military support.

Kyiv has said such terms amount to capitulation and would only allow Russia to prepare a fresh attack in its bid to install a Moscow-friendly puppet government.

World

Landslides in China Kill Six, Nine Missing

A drone view shows construction machinery clearing a road to the mudslide-hit Mingkeng village after heavy rainfall associated with Typhoon Saudel, in Suichuan county, Jian, Jiangxi province, China September 6, 2026. (cnsphoto via Reuters)

09:23-8 September 2026 AD ـ 26 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Landslides in China Kill Six, Nine Missing

Landslides in eastern China have killed six people with nine others still missing, state media said Tuesday, days after heavy rains unleashed by Typhoon Saudel.

A mudslide which hit Mingkeng village in Jiangxi province on Saturday left five dead and seven missing, state news agency Xinhua said, citing local officials.

Another person was found dead and two others still missing after landslides hit the nearby townships of Zuo'an and Tanghu.

The landslides followed days of torrential rains brought by Saudel, which first made landfall on China's eastern coast at the end of last month.

Several cities suspended work, schools and transport services in the face of the heavy rains.

The landslide in Mingkeng damaged homes and destabilized roads, according to Xinhua. More than 170 rescuers were deployed to the site to scour for those missing.

The landslides follow devastating glacial floods in the Himalayas last month that have killed 43 people in Tibet, according to state media, as well as nearly 1,300 people across the border in Nepal.

There are more than 5,000 missing in Nepal and another 519 on the Tibetan side of the border.

Scientists say climate change is accelerating glacial melting worldwide and making extreme storms more frequent worldwide, increasing the risk of such disasters.

World

Iran Increases Gasoline Price for Its Heaviest Consumers as Economy Struggles

An Iranian man fills his car, on the verge of the rise in gasoline prices in Iran, at a gas station in Tehran, Iran, September 7, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

09:15-8 September 2026 AD ـ 26 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Iran Increases Gasoline Price for Its Heaviest Consumers as Economy Struggles

An Iranian man fills his car, on the verge of the rise in gasoline prices in Iran, at a gas station in Tehran, Iran, September 7, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran early Tuesday introduced a higher price for its heaviest users of gasoline, state media reported, in the latest economic pinch caused by months of war. It’s the second such hike since December.

Such gas price increases can be sensitive and contribute to inflation. An increase in 2019 sparked nationwide protests and a crackdown that reportedly killed over 300 people.

Without specifically mentioning the war with the United States, the government’s announcement cited the “current situation,” adding that the extra money from the price increase will be given to households.

Under the new system, people buying more than their quota of 110 liters (29 gallons) of gasoline a month now must pay 100,000 rials (about 7 cents) per liter, or twice as much as they have been paying since December.

Iran still has some of the world’s lowest gasoline prices, but the price increase adds to daily pressures for many of the country’s more than 90 million people. Already, the currency has been dropping to record lows, and purchasing power has weakened. On Monday, the US dollar was trading at 2.22 million rials.

Keramat Veis Karami, the CEO of the state oil distribution company, on Monday said the new gasoline rate would affect 15% of consumers, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The CEO said consumption reached a record high at 145 million liters (38 million gallons) per day in August, while domestic production capacity was 122 million liters per day. The rest of the supply is imported.

Raising prices can help calm high consumption, which experts have blamed on aging cars and spare parts in Iran as well as insufficient public transportation.

But experts also say increases in gasoline prices will lead to higher inflation in a country that's already struggling with an annual inflation rate of about 67%, according to the country’s statistics center, a government agency.

Cheap gasoline has been viewed for generations as a birthright in Iran, sparking mass demonstrations as far back as 1964, when a price increase forced the shah to put military vehicles on the streets to replace those of striking taxi drivers.

An hour after the new pricing went into practice, two of eight gas stations visited by The Associated Press were closed to regulate the price rate of the pumps.

The six others were active, and a dozen cars were in line in each.

Security was tight around the filling stations and both uniformed and plainclothes police were visible around.

In the queue, Asghar Rahimi, a 34-year-old Tehran resident, said the price increases will not stop.

“The tiny amount cannot help government to manage problems like poverty and unemployment,” Rahimi said. “This was the first step. In coming months, they need to raise it again.”

Another resident, Ali Salari, 55, feared the raise in price will affect prices of other goods, including bread and meat.

“It has been that way ever since government manipulated gas prices,” Salari said.

Tehran citizen Hamid Mirzei, 43, said food prices have kept rising and a grocery trip just for staples, like beans and lentils, can cost up to 100 million rials ($73).

“Life has become difficult for all of us. Even basic groceries are becoming unaffordable,” Mirzei said.

“If gasoline prices go up as well, things will only get much worse,” he added.

Iceland Summons US Ambassador After Trump Posts Map Showing Island Under American Flag

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Russia Pounds Kyiv, Ending Three-Day Halt for US Talks

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