US to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany
US Defence Secretary Hegseth has ordered the withdrawal of 5,000 American troops from Germany, the Pentagon said on Friday, in an apparent US rebuke to the close NATO ally amid a widening rift between President Donald Trump and Europe over the Iran war.
Trump threatened the drawdown days ago after a bitter exchange with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who accused the Iranian government of “humiliating” the United States in stalled peace talks to end the two-month-old war.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the withdrawal was expected to be completed over the next six to twelve months, reported Reuters.