diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c0ce169e..7b234e4f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 - BREAKING: The field `opa` in `authorization` is now a mandatory enum variant instead of being optional ([#827]).
 - BREAKING: The operator no longer sets `opa.policy.column-masking-uri` in `access-control.properties` but
   `opa.policy.batch-column-masking-uri` instead, allowing Trino to fetch multiple column masks in a single request ([#827]).
+- Make `TrinoCatalog.spec.connector.iceberg.metastore` optional, as Iceberg also supports other catalogs, such as a REST catalog,
+  which (currently) can only be added using configOverrides ([#841]).
 
 ### Removed
 
@@ -28,6 +30,7 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 [#831]: https://github.com/stackabletech/trino-operator/pull/831
 [#833]: https://github.com/stackabletech/trino-operator/pull/833
 [#839]: https://github.com/stackabletech/trino-operator/pull/839
+[#841]: https://github.com/stackabletech/trino-operator/pull/841
 
 ## [25.11.0] - 2025-11-07
 
diff --git a/deploy/helm/trino-operator/crds/crds.yaml b/deploy/helm/trino-operator/crds/crds.yaml
index 5ccd3d67..236906aa 100644
--- a/deploy/helm/trino-operator/crds/crds.yaml
+++ b/deploy/helm/trino-operator/crds/crds.yaml
@@ -2810,7 +2810,12 @@ spec:
                             - configMap
                           type: object
                         metastore:
-                          description: Mandatory connection to a Hive Metastore, which will be used as a storage for metadata.
+                          description: |-
+                            Optional connection to a Hive Metastore, which will be used as a storage for metadata.
+
+                            The connection is optional, as Iceberg also supports other catalogs, such as a REST catalog,
+                            which (currently) can only be added using configOverrides.
+                          nullable: true
                           properties:
                             configMap:
                               description: Name of the [discovery ConfigMap](https://docs.stackable.tech/home/nightly/concepts/service_discovery) providing information about the Hive metastore.
@@ -2970,8 +2975,6 @@ spec:
                             reference:
                               type: string
                           type: object
-                      required:
-                        - metastore
                       type: object
                     tpcds:
                       description: A [TPC-DS](https://docs.stackable.tech/home/nightly/trino/usage-guide/catalogs/tpcds) connector.
diff --git a/rust/operator-binary/src/catalog/iceberg.rs b/rust/operator-binary/src/catalog/iceberg.rs
index 114c268f..4ab4498a 100644
--- a/rust/operator-binary/src/catalog/iceberg.rs
+++ b/rust/operator-binary/src/catalog/iceberg.rs
@@ -24,15 +24,17 @@ impl ToCatalogConfig for IcebergConnector {
         // See https://trino.io/docs/current/connector/iceberg.html
         config.add_property("iceberg.security", "allow-all");
 
-        self.metastore
-            .extend_catalog_config(
-                &mut config,
-                catalog_name,
-                catalog_namespace.clone(),
-                client,
-                trino_version,
-            )
-            .await?;
+        if let Some(metastore) = &self.metastore {
+            metastore
+                .extend_catalog_config(
+                    &mut config,
+                    catalog_name,
+                    catalog_namespace.clone(),
+                    client,
+                    trino_version,
+                )
+                .await?;
+        }
 
         if let Some(ref s3) = self.s3 {
             s3.extend_catalog_config(
diff --git a/rust/operator-binary/src/crd/affinity.rs b/rust/operator-binary/src/crd/affinity.rs
index fecef696..cac09f42 100644
--- a/rust/operator-binary/src/crd/affinity.rs
+++ b/rust/operator-binary/src/crd/affinity.rs
@@ -22,7 +22,10 @@ pub fn get_affinity(
             .iter()
             .filter_map(|catalog| match &catalog.spec.connector {
                 TrinoCatalogConnector::Hive(hive) => Some(&hive.metastore.config_map),
-                TrinoCatalogConnector::Iceberg(iceberg) => Some(&iceberg.metastore.config_map),
+                TrinoCatalogConnector::Iceberg(iceberg) => iceberg
+                    .metastore
+                    .as_ref()
+                    .map(|metastore| &metastore.config_map),
                 TrinoCatalogConnector::DeltaLake(delta_lake) => {
                     Some(&delta_lake.metastore.config_map)
                 }
diff --git a/rust/operator-binary/src/crd/catalog/iceberg.rs b/rust/operator-binary/src/crd/catalog/iceberg.rs
index 56e7f333..1b0425ae 100644
--- a/rust/operator-binary/src/crd/catalog/iceberg.rs
+++ b/rust/operator-binary/src/crd/catalog/iceberg.rs
@@ -11,8 +11,11 @@ use super::commons::{HdfsConnection, MetastoreConnection};
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Deserialize, Eq, JsonSchema, PartialEq, Serialize)]
 #[serde(rename_all = "camelCase")]
 pub struct IcebergConnector {
-    /// Mandatory connection to a Hive Metastore, which will be used as a storage for metadata.
-    pub metastore: MetastoreConnection,
+    /// Optional connection to a Hive Metastore, which will be used as a storage for metadata.
+    ///
+    /// The connection is optional, as Iceberg also supports other catalogs, such as a REST catalog,
+    /// which (currently) can only be added using configOverrides.
+    pub metastore: Option<MetastoreConnection>,
 
     /// Connection to an S3 store.
     /// Please make sure that the underlying Hive metastore also has access to the S3 store.