Continued reliance on the United States or diversification? The Icelandic government has repeatedly emphasized that Iceland still counts on US defence guarantees. Nevertheless, a need to diversify Iceland’s security has also been emphasized. A new trend towards expanding security partnerships has emerged, especially with European allies. This applies to Nordic partners within the framework of NORDEFCO, and more recently to Germany. Iceland and Germany signed a Letter of Intent on Bilateral Defence Cooperation between the German Federal Ministry of Defence and Ice ­land’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs in October 2025. Although the Letter of Intent is not legally binding, it does highlight areas of bilat­eral cooperation in which the two states aim to increase their cooperation. This includes areas such as information sharing, situational awareness and responses to common threats, coordination to detect and deter hybrid activi­ties and seeking areas of possible innovation to cooperate. The importance of the Letter is exemplified by two high-level visits to Iceland. The first was by Boris Pistorius, Federal Minister of Defence, in October 2025, and the second by Johan Wadephul, German Minister for Foreign Affairs, in January 2026. After Wadephul’s vis ­it, Gunnarsdóttir stated that while the bilateral defence agreement with the US is still a pillar of Iceland’s defence, Iceland would continue to strengthen ties with other countries, such as Finland, Canada and Germany. At a joint media conference, the two also discussed Greenland’s security and US threats to annex the island, noting that sovereignty must be respected. This crystallizes Iceland’s current security strategy, that is, to continue to emphasize the status of the US as a reliable partner, while exploring, expanding and strengthening ties with other NATO member states. Over recent years, financial contributions to national defence have increased significantly, with a stated aim of reaching 1.5% of GDP by 2035. Iceland has also taken clear steps to demon­strate its commitment to the alliance. Icelan­dic staff have been seconded to a number of NATO positions in the US and Europe, and military exercises are increasing in frequency. 13 Iceland’s identity as an unarmed state remains strong, however, and debates around security and safety of the population generally con­verge more on societal aspects than potential military threats. The Coast Guard is the most trusted public agency in the country and sup­port for ICE-SAR is strong as well. 13 Viðskiptablaðið(2025). Ísland mun verja 1,5% af landsframleiðslu í varnir. https://vb.is/frettir/island-mun-verja-15-af-landsframleidslu-i-var­nir/; Erlingsdóttir M.H.(2025). Útgjöld Íslands til varnarmála duga til- í bili. Vísir. https://www.visir.is/g/20252809741d/ut-gjold-is-lands-til-var­nar-mala-duga-til-i-bili Continued reliance on the United States or diversification? 9