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President Trump says “massive” oil, gas and mineral exploration is about to begin in Greenland, prompting pushback from Denmark and Greenland, which banned new oil exploration in 2021.

Getting into it: In a Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump called the Danish territory “our new and beautiful Greenland” and claimed experts say its supply of easily available oil is greater “than that of almost any land, anywhere in the World,” but gave no details on any deals, companies or timeline.

The post came about a month after the US, Denmark and Greenland signed a security deal expanding the US military presence on the island, allowing Washington to grow its Pituffik Space Base, open new bases at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig and move forward with Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense system. That deal affirmed Denmark’s sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to decide their own future, and while it mentions “minerals cooperation,” it doesn’t grant any rights to drill or mine. Greenland’s 2021 ban covers all future oil exploration and uranium mining, and the government is still deciding whether Texas-based Greenland Energy’s pre-ban permits are valid for its planned 2027 drilling on the east coast.

“Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland!” Trump wrote, adding that any future attack on the US “will have to come across Greenland, where our Defense will routinely knock down drones, missiles, or any other form of weapon not yet even conceived.”

Denmark’s foreign ministry said any US exploration would have to follow Greenland’s laws and that last month’s deal gives American investors no special treatment over other NATO or EU countries. Greenland’s deputy mining minister Jørgen Hammeken-Holm acknowledged some US companies are active on the island but said “we are very far away from ‘massive’ exploration,” noting smaller projects could take years to get going.

About 80% of Greenland is covered in ice, and many deposits sit in remote Arctic areas with little infrastructure. Meanwhile, Danish security adviser Jacob Kaarsbo warned it would be “extremely dangerous” to think the deal changed Trump’s intentions.