The United States is withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, the Pentagon announced on Friday, as President Donald Trump also threatened Italy and Spain for not supporting operations in the Strait of Hormuz. The move follows comments by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said the US was being “humiliated” by Iran.
A senior Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described recent German rhetoric as “inappropriate and unhelpful”. The withdrawal is expected to be completed over the next six to 12 months. A brigade combat team currently in Germany will be removed, and a long-range fires battalion that the Biden administration had planned to deploy later this year will no longer do so.
Germany hosts the largest US military presence in Europe, with about 35,000 active-duty personnel, and serves as a key training hub. The withdrawal comes amid a widening rift between the US and Nato allies over the war in Iran. Trump also threatened this week to pull troops from Italy and Spain, accusing them of not providing adequate support.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has opposed the US-Israeli war on Iran from the start, while Italy refused the use of an airbase in Sicily for US planes carrying weapons for the war. Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto rejected Trump’s accusations, stating that Rome had offered to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
About 13,000 US military personnel are stationed in Italy, and 3,800 in Spain. Last month, Trump threatened a full trade embargo on Spain. The US House approved a defence bill late last year limiting the president’s authority to reduce troop numbers in Europe below 76,000 for more than 45 days.
