The US is “studying and reviewing” whether to reduce the thousands of troops it has stationed in Germany, President Donald Trump has announced via social media.
His remarks came days after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised his approach to the war in Iran, suggesting that US had been “humiliated” by Iranian negotiators.
Trump said in a social media post late on Wednesday that a decision on troop numbers would be made “over the next short period of time”.
He then rounded on Merz early on Thursday, saying he should spend “more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine (Where he has been totally ineffective!)”. The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.
The US has a significant military presence in Germany, with more than 36,000 active duty troops assigned to bases across the country as of last December.
The president doubled down on his criticism of Merz later on Thursday, telling reporters the German leader was “doing a terrible job” and had “problems of all kinds”, including on immigration and energy.
Asked whether he would also consider pulling US troops from Nato allies Italy and Spain, Trump responded: “I probably will – look, why shouldn’t I?”
“Italy has not been of any help to us and Spain has been horrible,” he said, criticising them for their response to the war in Iran: “In all cases they said, ‘I don’t want to get involved.'”
Merz made no mention of Trump’s comments during a visit to German soldiers in northern Germany on Thursday, although he went out of his way to stress the importance of the Nato defensive alliance and “transatlantic solidarity”.
Earlier this week, however, he told university students that “the Americans clearly have no strategy” and he could not see “what strategic exit” they were going to choose.
“The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skilful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” he said.
He added that the “entire nation” was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership.
Trump responded the following day with a post to Truth Social, where he said Merz thought it was “OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon” and “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
“No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise!” the post read.
He picked up the same theme on Thursday, suggesting Merz should focus more on “fixing his broken Country, especially Immigration and Energy, and less time interfering with those that are getting rid of the Iran Nuclear threat”.
Germany, along with the UK and France, was part of a 2015 deal with Iran to limit its nuclear operations, although Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2018.
When asked about Trump’s initial post in a press conference on Wednesday, Merz said the “personal relationship between the American president and myself remains just as good as before”.
He added that the “entire nation” was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership.
Trump responded the following day with a post to Truth Social, where he said Merz thought it was “OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon” and “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
“No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise!” the post read.
He picked up the same theme on Thursday, suggesting Merz should focus more on “fixing his broken Country, especially Immigration and Energy, and less time interfering with those that are getting rid of the Iran Nuclear threat”.
Germany, along with the UK and France, was part of a 2015 deal with Iran to limit its nuclear operations, although Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2018.
When asked about Trump’s initial post in a press conference on Wednesday, Merz said the “personal relationship between the American president and myself remains just as good as before”.
Merz said after talks with Trump in Washington in March that Trump had assured him the US would maintain its military presence in Germany, adding that he had not expected anything else.
However, while Merz has this week complained of the economic consequences for Europe of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump has been angered by the response of Nato allies in Europe to the war in Iran.
Over the past two months, the US president has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the 32-member Nato alliance, calling it a “paper tiger” and a “one-way street”.
Earlier in April, a leaked internal Pentagon email detailed potential measures for the US to punish allies it believed had failed to support its campaign in Iran, including a suggestion that the US could seek to suspend Spain from Nato over its stance.
A Nato official told the BBC that the alliance’s founding treaty “does not foresee any provision for suspension of Nato membership, or expulsion”.
By BBC News
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