After Iran, Trump threatens tariffs over Greenland now

Washington: US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on countries opposing Washington's plans to acquire Greenland for "national security" reasons.

"I may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security," he said.

Trump has repeatedly asserted that Greenland is important to safeguard the US from Russia and China's presence in the Arctic Ocean, and has demanded that the Kingdom of Denmark sell the self-governed territory.

However, Denmark and other NATO allies have refused to cede the territory to the US, with France, Germany and other European countries sending their troops to Greenland to help boost the security.

Earlier, speaking to the reporters on the South Lawn, Trump emphasised the necessity of acquiring Greenland and also talked about the US's military power, citing their recent operations in Venezuela and Iran.

"NATO has been dealing with us on Greenland. We need Greenland for national security very badly. If we don't have it, we have a big hole in national security, especially when it comes to what we're doing in terms of the Golden Dome and all of the other things," he said.

"We have a lot of investments in the military. We have the strongest military in the world, and it's only getting stronger. And you saw that with Venezuela. You saw that with the attack on Iran, with the knocking out of their nuclear capabilities," he added.