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Denmark says White House talks failed to alter US designs on Greenland

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Denmark says White House talks failed to alter US designs on Greenland


Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (left) and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak to the media at the Danish Embassy on January 14, 2026 in Washington, DC. — AFP
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (left) and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak to the media at the Danish Embassy on January 14, 2026 in Washington, DC. — AFP
  • Danish, Greenland ministers meet Vance and Rubio at White House.
  • Trump insists Nato to back United States’s bid to control Greenland.
  • Copenhagen boosts military presence, launches Arctic exercises.

Denmark’s top diplomat said on Wednesday he failed to change the mind of US President Donald Trump’s administration on his threats to seize Greenland after flying to the White House for talks.

The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland, an autonomous territory of Copenhagen, met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in what they hoped would clear up “misunderstandings” after Trump’s bellicose language toward the Nato ally.

“We didn’t manage to change the American position. It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters after the meeting.

“And we made it very, very clear that this is not in the interest of the kingdom.”

The minister said a US takeover of Greenland, where Washington has long had a military base, was “absolutely not necessary.”

He said the issue was “very emotional” for the people of Greenland and Denmark, a steadfast US ally whose troops died alongside Americans in Afghanistan and, controversially, Iraq.

“Ideas that would not respect territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self-determination of the Greenlandic people are, of course, totally unacceptable,” Lokke said.

“We therefore still have a fundamental disagreement, but we also agree to disagree.”

He said the two sides would form a committee that would meet within weeks to see if there was possible headway.

Trump insisted hours before the talks that Nato should support the US effort to take control of Greenland, even though major European allies have all lined up to back Denmark.

Trump said Greenland was “vital” for his planned Golden Dome air and missile defense system.

“Anything less than that is unacceptable,” he wrote on his Truth Social network. “IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!”

Mocking tone

While the talks were underway, the White House posted on X: “Which way, Greenland man?”

The post included a drawing of two dogsleds — one heading towards the White House and a huge US flag, and the other towards Chinese and Russian flags over a lightning-bathed Kremlin and Great Wall of China.

Neither country has claimed Greenland, and Lokke said no Chinese ship had been spotted there in a decade.

Denmark promised ahead of the meeting to ramp up military presence further in the vast, sparsely populated and strategically located island.

Trump has derided recent Danish efforts to increase security for Greenland as amounting to “two dogsleds.” Denmark says it has invested almost $14 billion in Arctic security.

The row over Greenland has deeply shaken transatlantic relations. Both Denmark and Greenland insist only Greenlanders should decide the autonomous island’s fate.

In the quiet streets of the capital Nuuk, red and white Greenlandic flags were flying in shop windows, on apartment balconies, and on cars and buses, in a show of national unity as the talks got underway.

“We are standing together in these times when we might feel vulnerable,” the Nuuk municipality wrote on Facebook.

Greenland’s leader said on Tuesday that the island prefers to remain part of Denmark, prompting Trump to say “that’s going to be a big problem for him.”

Vance, who slammed Denmark as a “bad ally” during a visit to Greenland last year, is known for a hard edge, which was on display when he publicly berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last February.

The meeting, however, was closed to the press, meaning there was no on-camera confrontation.

Emboldened by Venezuela

Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told AFP earlier Wednesday his country was boosting its military presence in Greenland and was in talks with NATO allies.

The Danish defence ministry then announced that it would do so “from today,” hosting a military exercise and sending in “aircraft, vessels and soldiers.”

Swedish officers were joining the exercise at Denmark’s request, Stockholm said.

Trump has appeared emboldened on Greenland — and on what he views as the US backyard as a whole — since ordering a deadly January 3 attack in Venezuela that removed president Nicolas Maduro.

The White House has repeatedly said military action against Greenland remains on the table.





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Iran’s response to mediation efforts is ‘clear’: President Pezeshkian

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Iran’s response to mediation efforts is ‘clear’: President Pezeshkian



Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has affirmed that several countries have initiated mediation efforts to halt the brutal, imposed war waged against the Islamic Republic by the United States and the Israeli regime.

In a post on the social media platform X on Friday, President Pezeshkian said, “Some countries have begun mediation efforts and our response to them is clear.”

He stressed that these efforts must target the true aggressors, the US and Israel, who launched this unprovoked aggression.

He reiterated Iran’s unwavering commitment to “lasting” peace in the region, declaring, “Yet we have no hesitation in defending our nation’s dignity, sovereignty, and the rights of our great people.”

The president emphasized that any genuine mediation must confront those who underestimated the resilience of the Iranian nation and deliberately ignited this war through their criminal attacks.

The US and the Israeli regime unleashed a new wave of savage aerial aggression against Iran on February 28, barely eight months after their previous unprovoked assaults on the country.

These barbaric strikes resulted in the martyrdom of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei—a profound loss for the Islamic Ummah and a heinous crime against humanity.

In response, the Iranian government declared 40 days of national public mourning and seven days of official holidays to honor the Supreme Leader’s martyrdom and rally the nation in unity and resolve.

These latest aggressions came even as Tehran and Washington had engaged in three rounds of indirect negotiations in the Omani capital of Muscat and the Swiss city of Geneva, with plans underway for technical talks in Vienna, Austria—demonstrating Iran’s consistent pursuit of diplomacy despite relentless hostility.

Unyielding in the face of this aggression, Iran has launched powerful and precise retaliatory barrages of missiles and drones targeting military sites in the Israeli-occupied territories and US bases across the region, exercising its legitimate right to self-defense and sending a clear message that the Iranian nation will never submit to bullying or occupation.

 



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Iran destroys US radars in UAE, Jordan, satellite images show

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Iran destroys US radars in UAE, Jordan, satellite images show



Satellite images show that several US military radars in the UAE and Jordan have been successfully hit by Iranian missiles and drones as the Iranian Armed Forces continue a retaliatory campaign against American and Israeli aggression.

New images from several military installations across the Arabian Peninsula suggest that Iran has focused on disabling the radar infrastructure that forms the backbone of US-supplied missile systems.

One such radar, supporting an American THAAD missile battery at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, appears to have been hit and destroyed in the opening days of the war, according to satellite imagery captured Monday.

The base lies more than 500 miles from Iran, underscoring the reach of Tehran’s retaliatory operations.
Similar damage has also been detected in the United Arab Emirates.

Satellite analysis shows that buildings housing radar-related infrastructure were struck at two locations—near Ruwais and Sader—between February 28 and March 1.At least three structures in Ruwais and four in Sader sustained visible damage, including pull-through vehicle sheds typically used to store radar systems linked to THAAD batteries.

The radar component is considered a critical element of the high-end missile interceptor system, enabling the detection and tracking of incoming ballistic missiles and drones. Without it, the interceptor batteries’ ability to respond to threats is significantly degraded.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) earlier said such strikes were part of its expanding Operation True Promise 4, a campaign launched in retaliation for the unprovoked US-Israeli aggression.

“With the successful destruction of more than seven advanced radars, the eyes of the US and the usurping Zionist regime in the region have been blinded,” the IRGC said in a statement on Wednesday, announcing the 17th stage of the operation.

The latest developments come after the United States and Israel launched a new round of aggression against Iran on February 28, eight months after earlier unprovoked attacks against the country.

The strikes has led to the martyrdom of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and more than 1,200 civilians, including women, children and senior military commanders.

Iran responded swiftly, unleashing waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli-occupied territories and US bases across the region.

Iranian officials insist the war was imposed on the country and say their ongoing military campaign is a legitimate act of self-defense aimed at neutralizing the infrastructure used to sustain further aggression.



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Russia ‘providing Iran intelligence’ to target US forces: report

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Russia ‘providing Iran intelligence’ to target US forces: report


Aircraft are staged for flight operations on the flight deck of the US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 3, 2026. — Reuters
Aircraft are staged for flight operations on the flight deck of the US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 3, 2026. — Reuters
  • US refrains from commenting on alleged Russian support.
  • Officials say information includes locations of US warships.
  • Russia says it was in dialogue with representatives of Iran.

Russia is providing Iran with targeting information that includes locations of US warships and aircraft in the Middle East, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing three officials familiar with the intelligence.

The extent of Russia’s support to Iran was not entirely clear, but the Iranian military’s own ability to locate US forces has been degraded since the US and Israel launched strikes against Tehran last week, the Washington Post reported.

The war has since escalated, triggering retaliatory strikes by Iran, and ensnared its neighbours as it seeks to impose a high cost on the US, Israel and their allies.

The US military has identified six reserve soldiers killed in Kuwait when a drone slammed into a US military facility in Port Shuaiba. Trump and other senior officials have warned the conflict will likely result in more US military deaths.

A White House spokesperson did not directly comment on the alleged Russian support to Iran.

“The Iranian regime is being absolutely crushed. Their ballistic missile retaliation is decreasing every day, their navy is being wiped out, their production capacity is being demolished, and proxies are hardly putting up a fight,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement, responding to questions from Reuters.

Russia was in dialogue with representatives of Iran’s leadership, the Kremlin said on Friday. It declined to provide details when asked by reporters whether Moscow was helping Tehran.

The conflict has been an unexpected shot in the arm for Russia, with a significant bump in demand for its oil and gas, boosting exports battered in recent years by sanctions linked to its war in Ukraine. The United States has given Ukraine intelligence information during its war with Russia.

The Russian Embassy in Washington and Russia’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.





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