Former Norwegian prime minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, who led the country until 2005, has been held and questioned at Washington Dulles Airport.

The politician traveled to the US to attend the Trump-led National Prayer Breakfast in Washington (where the US president had some choice words for Arnold Schwarzenegger).

Professional anarchists, thugs and paid protesters are proving the point of the millions of people who voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2017

He was stopped because his diplomatic passport had an Iranian visa.

Even after his identity had been established he was kept for further questioning.

"It took about an hour. They started asking me why I had been in Iran and why I was coming to the United States. There should be no reason to fear a former prime minister who has been on official visits to the country several times before," he told TV2 in Norway.

Speaking to ABC7 he added, "Of course I fully understand the fear of letting terrorists come into this country ... It should be enough when they found that I have a diplomatic passport."

"That should be enough for them to understand that I don’t represent any problem or threat to this country and let me go immediately, but they didn’t."

He visited Iran to speak at a human rights conference - Norway is an ally of the US.

"I was surprised, and I was provoked ... What will the reputation of the US be if this happens not only to me, but also to other international leaders?" the Norwegian reflected.

After this incident he expressed concerns regarding the coming years under Mr Trump: "I must admit that I fear the future. There has been a lot of progress over the last 10 years, but this gives great cause for concern, in line with the authoritarian leaders we see controlling other major countries."