Secretary Rubio heads to Iceland to deepen US Arctic security and economic ties

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Iceland on Monday to meet officials in Reykjavik and press for deeper economic and security cooperation. The trip comes two weeks after the United States sealed a security pact with Denmark and Greenland, pledging to build two new military bases on the autonomous Danish territory. The agreement ends President Donald Trump’s threats to purchase or annex Greenland, a stance that had strained ties with the EU.

Iceland, which has no standing army and depends on NATO and a 1951 bilateral defence treaty with the United States, has become a strategic Arctic partner as competition from Russia and China intensifies. The visit follows a diplomatic row sparked by an AI-generated map posted by Trump that depicted Iceland as part of the United States, prompting Reykjavik to summon the U.S. ambassador. Rubio will next travel to Athens for a “strategic dialogue” with Greece on regional and energy security, then conclude his European tour with a brief stop in Lisbon. The tour also touches on concerns about possible conflicts of interest involving the U.S. ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle.