German Chancellor says President Donald Trump’s criticism of Iran strategy is unrelated to announcement of troop withdrawal.
Published May 3, 2026
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has sought to downplay tensions with the United States after the U.S. government announced plans to reduce the number of American troops in Germany.
Mertz said the U.S. troop withdrawal plan has “nothing to do” with the rift with Donald Trump over Iran strategy.
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“I remain convinced that the United States is our most important partner in the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO),” Merz told broadcaster ARD in an interview scheduled to air later on Sunday.
Trouble began last Monday when Mertz appeared to criticize President Trump’s actions in Iran, where the United States and Israel went to war without consulting Washington’s NATO allies.
Mertz said Iran was “humiliating” the United States and warned that the United States had no clear path out of the conflict. Foreign Minister Johan Wadeplu later tried to retract his remarks, saying Mertz had referred to Iran’s “bad behavior” in the peace talks.
Still, Washington’s pain seems to have persisted. President Trump reprimanded Merz for the remarks, saying the German leader “doesn’t know what he’s talking about” and threatening to withdraw U.S. troops.
On Friday, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the withdrawal of approximately 5,000 US troops over the next 12 months.
This is expected to reduce the number of US troops stationed in the country by about 14%. Germany has the largest number of U.S. troops in Europe, with about 36,000 soldiers. There are about 12,000 detainees in Italy and 10,000 in the UK.
President Trump on Friday also announced increased tariffs on European Union cars and trucks, of which Germany produces the most.
NATO-US alliance under pressure
Germany is one of the United States and Israel’s most loyal allies, and Berlin is one of Israel’s most important arms suppliers.
Last year, Mertz supported Israel’s attack on Iran, saying Israel was “doing the dirty work for all of us.”
Germany has also consistently supported Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza, while repressing pro-Palestinian protesters domestically through mass arrests, profiling, and censorship.
However, with soaring oil and commodity prices, Mertz appears to have changed his view on the US-Israel war with Iran.
President Trump has long criticized America’s NATO allies for being overly dependent on the United States, and governments such as Germany have begun increasing defense spending and improving weapons.
The United States has stepped up its criticism in recent weeks as EU countries refuse to directly participate in the war against Iran or cooperate in forcing the Strait of Hormuz to reopen.
Spain, in particular, has publicly criticized the war and closed its airspace to US forces amid a bombing campaign against Iran.
On Sunday, President Trump shared an article from the far-right news site Breitbart on social media titled, “President Trump tells German Chancellor Merz to ‘rebuild our broken country’ and considers withdrawing U.S. troops from Spain and Italy,” echoing his previous comments.
Approximately 4,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Spain.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday that the US decision to reduce the number of troops in Germany was “foreseeable”.
In an interview with DPA news agency, Pistorius emphasized that while the relationship between the United States and Europe is important, “Europe must take more responsibility for our security.”
NATO spokeswoman Alison Hart posted on X that the alliance is “working with the United States to understand the details of the decision.”
