By Sophie Tanno, Sebastian Shukla, NCS
(NCS) — A spat between the US and Germany has reached new heights, with US President Donald Trump threatening to pull some American troops from the nation amid disagreements concerning the US-led marketing campaign in Iran.
“The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Wednesday evening.
On Thursday, he expanded his risk to Italy and Spain. “I mean, they haven’t been exactly on board,” Trump answered, when requested about the opportunity of cuts to troop ranges within the two international locations. “Yeah, probably will,” Trump added, “Why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help. Spain has been horrible. Absolutely.”
It comes as Europe and Washington have been at odds over the US’ strategy to the war with Iran. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz drew Trump’s wrath this week for comments he made on Monday, during which he stated the US was being “humiliated” by Iran and criticized the administration for not having an efficient technique to finish the war.
There are 36,436 active-duty US navy personnel completely stationed in Germany, in accordance to knowledge from the US Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) launched in December 2025 – a quantity markedly larger than in different European international locations. Trump beforehand threatened to cut back troop numbers within the nation in 2020, throughout his first tenure in workplace and whereas Angela Merkel held the German chancellorship.
As of December, there have been greater than 12,600 active-duty US navy personnel stationed in Italy and greater than 3,800 in Spain.
Friction over Iran war
Friction between European leaders and the Trump administration has intensified due to the US-Israeli war, which the US launched with out notifying most NATO allies. Germany was knowledgeable prematurely of the preliminary strikes, a authorities spokesperson advised the Associated Press. European international locations have refused to become directly involved within the battle, as an alternative emphasizing the significance of discovering a diplomatic answer. Trump in return has threatened to rethink the US’ NATO membership and has referred to the navy alliance as a “paper tiger.”
Like some different European international locations, Germany has provided restricted navy assist to the US, most notably permitting the usage of its navy infrastructure, reminiscent of air bases, for operations associated to the battle — thought it has not permitted these to be used as staging grounds for direct offensive strikes.
Merz has additionally pledged additional German help below the situation the battle strikes to a post-war part. This may embrace participation in a potential worldwide stabilization mission.
To that impact, Berlin just lately introduced a naval minesweeper will likely be deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in preparation for efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as a long-lasting finish to hostilities is reached. This transfer adopted calls from Trump for allies to ship warships and minesweepers to assist safe the strait. Germany is a part of a coalition led by Britain and France searching for to make sure the secure passage of vessels by the essential waterway. These actions have nevertheless failed to fulfill Trump.
Merz’s perspective in the direction of the war has additionally shifted. In the hours following the start of the marketing campaign, he insisted “this is not the moment to lecture allies.” His tone altered following a March go to to the US, when he stated he couldn’t “see any clear strategy.”
The disagreement between Berlin and Washington deepened additional on Monday, when Merz starkly criticized US makes an attempt to extricate itself from a war it entered with out laying out clear goals.
“The whole affair is ill-considered to say the least,” he stated, whereas emphasizing Berlin’s need for the war to finish as quickly as potential. “At the moment, I cannot see what strategic exit the Americans are now opting for.”
On Tuesday, Trump lashed out at Merz straight in a Truth Social submit, writing, “the Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!”
He continued, “No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise!”
Merz, as with different European allies, has beforehand acknowledged the risk posed by Tehran and has maintained Iran should not possess nuclear weapons.
The German chancellor has subsequently sought to play down the feud along with his US counterpart and strike a extra conciliatory tone, insisting Wednesday that his relationship with Trump is “good.”
“From my perspective, my personal relationship with the US president remains good,” Merz advised reporters, whereas highlighting the destructive influence the war is having on Germany’s economic system and vitality provides.
On Thursday, within the wake of Trump’s announcement of probably pulling some troops from Germany, Merz once more reiterated how vital the transatlantic alliance is to Berlin.
“As you know, this transatlantic partnership is particularly close to our hearts – and to mine personally,” he advised reporters at a navy base in Munster.
Since Trump’s return to workplace, German officers had largely managed to keep out of his firing line and prevented the blistering criticisms directed at many different conventional allies. Amid the current fallout, this seems to have modified dramatically.
The-NCS-Wire
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NCS’s Alejandra Jaramillo, Lizzie McBride and Issy Ronald contributed to this report.
Sources