Trump says he is weighing reducing U.S. troops in Germany amid Iran feud

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President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany, as his feud with Chancellor Friedrich Merz continues over the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. Trump made the threat in a social media post, saying a determination would be made “over the next short period of time.”

The statement came shortly after Merz, speaking earlier Wednesday, criticized Washington’s approach to the Iran war and argued the United States lacked strategy. Merz said his personal relationship with Trump remained “as good as ever,” while also expressing doubts about what he described as the start of the conflict.

Merz’s comments were part of a wider European concern that an extended war could damage the global economy, according to the AP report. Merz pointed to the strain faced in Germany and Europe and said Europe is suffering from consequences that include the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump, for his part, has repeatedly railed against NATO, saying the alliance has not been willing to assist the United States in the war. The AP report said Trump’s troop-reduction threat followed Merz’s criticism of Washington and continued the diplomatic friction between the two leaders.

In his social media post, Trump said: “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 previously floated a troop reduction during his first term, when he announced plans in June 2020 to pull out about 9,500 of roughly 34,500 U.S. troops then stationed in Germany, though the process never began. The AP report said Democratic President Joe Biden formally stopped the planned withdrawal after taking office in 2021.

The U.S. military presence in Germany includes several major facilities cited by AP, including the headquarters for U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command, Ramstein Air Base, and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest American hospital outside the United States. The timing and potential scale of any new drawdown would therefore affect ongoing U.S. operations tied to those installations.

Merz previously met with Trump at the White House in March, according to the AP report. At the meeting, Merz told Trump Germany was eager to work with the United States on a strategy for when the current Iranian government no longer exists, and he also raised concerns about the broader economic impact of prolonged conflict.

Hours before Trump posted his threat, Merz said Europe was dealing with the consequences of the Strait of Hormuz closure. He said Wednesday: “We are suffering considerably in Germany and in Europe from the consequences of, for example, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” and urged that “this conflict be resolved.”

The AP report said Trump’s exchanges with Merz have also included sharp criticism. On Tuesday, Trump wrote that Merz thinks it is “OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” adding that “it was no surprise” that Germany was doing “so poorly, both economically and in other respects!”