Iceland–United States relations
bilateral relations between Iceland and United States
The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Iceland since the mid-1800s.
Overview
In 1868, the U.S. Department of State under William H. Seward authored a report that contemplated the purchase of Iceland from Denmark. The United States military established a presence in Iceland and around its waters after the Nazi occupation of Denmark (even before the U.S. entered World War II) in order to deny Nazi Germany access to its strategically important location (which would have been considered a threat to the Western Hemisphere).
The United States was the first country to recognize Icelandic independence from Denmark in June 1944, union with Denmark under a common king, and German and British occupation during World War II. Iceland is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) but has no standing military of its own. The United States and Iceland signed a bilateral defense agreement in 1951, which stipulated that the U.S. would make arrangements for Iceland's defense on behalf of NATO and provided for basing rights for U.S. forces in Iceland; the agreement remains in force, although U.S. military forces are no longer permanently stationed in Iceland.
In 2006, the U.S. announced it would continue to provide for Iceland's defense but without permanently basing forces in the country. That year, Naval Air Station Keflavik closed and the two countries signed a technical agreement on base closure issues (e.g., facilities return, environmental cleanup, residual value) and a "joint understanding" on future bilateral security cooperation (focusing on defending Iceland and the North Atlantic region against emerging threats such as terrorism and trafficking). The United States also worked with local officials to mitigate the impact of job losses at the Air Station, notably by encouraging U.S. investment in industry and tourism development in the Keflavik area. Cooperative activities in the context of the new agreements have included joint search and rescue, disaster surveillance, maritime interdiction training with U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard units, and U.S. deployments to support the NATO air surveillance mission in Iceland.
The U.S.–Icelandic relationship is founded on cooperation and mutual support.
The public source identifies “Iceland–United States relations” as bilateral relations between Iceland and United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Iceland, United and States.
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