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The United States is withdrawing 5,000 troops from a NATO base in Germany, the Pentagon announced on Friday, as tensions over the Iran war escalated between President Donald Trump and Europe.
Trump threatened to withdraw troops earlier this week after clashing with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said Monday that Iran was embarrassing the US in talks to end the two-month war and that he did not see an exit strategy for Washington.
A senior Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the latest German speech was “incorrect and unhelpful.”
“The president is responding well to these useless statements,” said the official.
The Pentagon said the withdrawal is expected to be completed in the next six to 12 months. Germany is home to about 35,000 American troops, more than anywhere else in Europe.
The official said the drawdown would restore US troop levels in Europe to around 2022, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted a rally under then-president Joe Biden.
The official also made the decision as part of the Trump administration’s push to make Europe the continent’s main security provider. Still, it’s another powerful reminder of Trump’s willingness to respond to what he sees as partner disloyalty.
Reuters reported exclusively last week that an internal Pentagon email outlined options for punishing NATO allies that Washington believes have failed to support US operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain from NATO and revising the US position on Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands.
Relations with European nations are conflicting
It is unclear whether more withdrawals from Europe will follow. On Thursday, Trump said “maybe” when asked if he would consider withdrawing US troops from Italy and Spain.
Last month, he threatened to impose a full US trade embargo on Spain, where the socialist leadership said it would not allow its bases or airspace to be used to attack Iran. The US has two important military bases in Spain: Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base.
Trump also clashed with Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni over the Iran war and Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo. The US president said in April that Meloni, once a strong supporter of Trump, lacked courage and let Washington down.
Trump blamed NATO allies, too, for not sending their ships to help open the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway, the world’s oil hub, remains closed during the Iran conflict, causing market turmoil and unprecedented disruptions in energy use.
Merz said the Germans and Europeans did not consult with them before the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, and that he had conveyed his doubts about the conflict directly to Trump later.
“The president has made it clear that he is upset about the statements of our allies and the failure to support US operations that benefit them,” said a senior Pentagon official.
Trump has long wanted to reduce the presence of US troops in Germany. He sought a layoff at the end of his first quarter, but that layoff was not upheld. Trump lost the election, and Biden canceled the program.
Trump’s announcement on Wednesday that he was reviewing US troop levels in Germany surprised German military officials who spoke to Reuters, citing what they described as constructive meetings at the Pentagon earlier in the day.
They argue that Germany has done more than other allies to support the US war in Iran, including allowing the use of bases and granting permission for overflights. Germany is also home to the largest military hospital in Landstuhl.
Earlier this week, the German government approved key targets for its 2027 budget, including a strong commitment to increasing defense spending.
Imran Bayoumi, a former Pentagon official, said that although the cuts in Germany were not as bad as they could have been, they still risked alienating the US from Europe.
“European leaders are likely to increase their defense spending, viewing Washington as increasingly unreliable and untrustworthy,” said Bayoumi, now at the Atlantic Council.
As part of Trump’s decision to withdraw, a contingent of German troops will now be withdrawn from the country, and long-term combat that the Biden administration had planned to begin sending to Germany later this year will no longer be deployed, the official said.
