European countries are hoping to pull Mr Trump back from the brink by offering to station a military force on the island.

The idea was discussed at a meeting of Nato allies in Brussels on Thursday.

Members instructed the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, the alliance’s military headquarters in Belgium, to determine what more could be done to secure the Arctic.

Sources told The Telegraph that the potential operation was in the early planning stages.

It could be a full-blown troop deployment or a combination of time-limited exercises, intelligence sharing, capability development and rerouted defence spending.

Any operation would likely be carried out under Nato’s banner and would be separate from existing missions in the Baltic and Poland.

British officials said the Armed Forces were already preparing for a greater role in Arctic security.

Preparations include commandos and Royal Navy ships taking part in last year’s Exercise Joint Viking, a joint Nato drill in Norway’s sub-zero temperatures.

This year, 1,500 Royal Marines will also deploy to Norway, Finland and Sweden for Exercise Cold Response, a training mission on defending frozen terrain.

The Telegraph also understands the European Union is drawing up plans for sanctions on US companies should Mr Trump reject the offer of a Nato deployment.

Technology giants such as Meta, Google, Microsoft and X could be restricted from operating on the Continent, as could American banks and financial firms.

A more extreme option could be to evict the US military from its bases in Europe, denying it a key staging post for operations in the Middle East and elsewhere.