Editing Iceland (section)

===Military===
{{main|Military of Iceland}}

Iceland has no [[standing army]] but has the [[Icelandic Coast Guard]] which also maintains the [[Iceland Air Defence System]], and an [[Iceland Crisis Response Unit]] to support peacekeeping missions and perform paramilitary functions.
 	
The [[Iceland Defense Force]] (IDF) was a [[command (military formation)|military command]] of the [[United States Armed Forces]] from 1951 to 2006. The IDF, created at the request of [[NATO]], came into existence when the United States signed an agreement to provide for the defense of Iceland. The IDF also consisted of civilian Icelanders and military members of other NATO nations. The IDF was downsized after the end of the [[Cold War]] and the [[U.S. Air Force]] maintained four to six [[interceptor aircraft]] at the [[Naval Air Station Keflavik]] until they were withdrawn on 30 September 2006. Since May 2008, NATO nations have periodically deployed fighters to patrol Icelandic airspace under the [[Icelandic Air Policing]] mission.<ref name="French_Air_Force_in_Iceland">{{cite web |title=French Air Force in Iceland |url=http://www.mfa.is/speeches-and-articles/nr/4240 |publisher=Ministry for Foreign Affairs |access-date=2 October 2010 |date=5 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511081438/http://www.mfa.is/speeches-and-articles/nr/4240 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="NATO_ACO">{{cite web |title=Air Policing |url=http://www.aco.nato.int/page142085426.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124134809/http://www.aco.nato.int/page142085426.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 January 2010 |publisher=NATO Air Command Operations |access-date=2 October 2010}}</ref> Iceland supported the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] despite much domestic controversy, deploying a Coast Guard [[Explosive Ordnance Disposal|EOD]] team to Iraq,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lhg.is/starfsemi/stjornsyslusvid/frettir/nr/618 |title=Stjórnsýslusvið < Starfsemi < Vefsvæði |publisher=Lhg.is |access-date=10 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516073708/http://www.lhg.is/starfsemi/stjornsyslusvid/frettir/nr/618 |archive-date=16 May 2011}}</ref> which was replaced later by members of the [[Iceland Crisis Response Unit]]. Iceland has also participated in the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|conflict in Afghanistan]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.visir.is/g/2004406130411|title=Íslenskur her í Afganistan|date=2004-06-13|access-date=2022-03-28|website=[[Vísir.is]]|author=Björgvin Guðmundsson|language=is|archive-date=28 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328214540/https://www.visir.is/g/2004406130411|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nato.int/docu/articles/2001/a010504a.pdf|publisher=NATO|title=Viðhorf: Tímarit um Alþjóðamál|access-date=2022-03-28|language=is|archive-date=31 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331222104/https://www.nato.int/docu/articles/2001/a010504a.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite the ongoing financial crisis the first [[ICGV Þór (2009)|new patrol ship]] in decades was launched on 29 April 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lhg.is/starfsemi/stjornsyslusvid/frettir/nr/1363 |title=Stjórnsýslusvið < Starfsemi < Vefsvæði |publisher=Lhg.is |access-date=10 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113021551/http://www.lhg.is/starfsemi/stjornsyslusvid/frettir/nr/1363 |archive-date=13 January 2010}}</ref>

Iceland was the neutral host of the historic 1986 [[Reykjavík Summit|Reagan–Gorbachev summit]] in Reykjavík, which set the stage for the end of the [[Cold War]]. Iceland's principal historical international disputes involved disagreements over [[exclusive economic zone]]s. Conflict with the United Kingdom led to a series of so-called [[Cod Wars]], which included confrontations between the Icelandic Coast Guard and the [[Royal Navy]] over British fishermen: in 1952–1956 due to the extension of Iceland's fishing zone from {{convert|3|to|4|nmi|km mi|1|abbr=on|lk=in}}, in 1958–1961 following a further extension to {{convert|12|nmi|km mi|1|abbr=on}}, in 1972–1973 with another extension to {{convert|50|nmi|km mi|1|abbr=on}}, and in 1975–1976 after another extension to {{convert|200|nmi|km mi|1|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.government.is/topics/business-and-industry/fisheries-in-iceland/history-of-fisheries/|title=History of fisheries|publisher=Government of Iceland|access-date=2022-03-28|archive-date=28 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328233028/https://www.government.is/topics/business-and-industry/fisheries-in-iceland/history-of-fisheries/|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the 2024 [[Global Peace Index]], Iceland is the most peaceful country in the world, due to its lack of armed forces, low crime rate and high level of socio-political stability.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 Global Peace Index |url=https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf}}</ref> Iceland is listed in ''[[Guinness World Records]]'' as the "country ranked most at peace"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Country ranked most at peace |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/100593-country-ranked-most-at-peace |access-date=29 March 2025 |website=Guinness World Records}}</ref> and the "lowest military spending per capita".<ref>{{cite web |title=Lowest military spending per capita (country) |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/79177-lowest-military-spending-per-capita-country |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221115515/https://guinnessworldrecords.com/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2fsearch%2fapplicationrecordsearch%3fterm%3d%2522iceland%2522%26contentType%3drecord%26page%3d1&term=%22iceland%22&contentType=record&page=1 |archive-date=21 December 2016 |access-date=29 March 2025 |website=Guinness World Records}}</ref>