The U.S. is reviewing a reduction of its troop presence in Germany, President Donald Trump said Wednesday, mulling the drawdown after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said early this week the U.S. was “being humiliated” in its war and sluggish negotiations with Iran.
Merz made the comment about the U.S.-Iran war while speaking to student in Germany on Monday.
Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Trump said the U.S. is “reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany” and would make a decision shortly.
Speaking to students at a public event in Germany on Monday, Merz said Iran was good at negotiating, “or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result.”
Trump canceled a planned visit to Pakistan by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner over the weekend, claiming Iranian leaders were dealing with “infighting.”
Merz also said an “entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership,” making the comment as the U.S. neared its second month at war with Iran.
Trump has reportedly mulled pulling U.S. troops out of NATO countries that have opposed or refused to engage in the Iran war alongside the U.S.
Merz added, “The problem with conflicts like these is always the same,” saying, “It’s not just about getting in, you also have to get out. We saw that all too painfully in Afghanistan, for 20 years. We saw it in Iraq.” The U.S. war against Iran has continued for over two months, though the U.S. has not placed ground troops in Iran, unlike the case in the other conflicts Merz mentioned. Trump, who initially said the war would last four to five weeks, has claimed victory multiple times since late February, saying last month the war was already won and that Iran’s military assets were crippled.
Trump, who greenlit a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, is considering a lengthier occupation of the crucial shipping route if peace talks with Iran continue proving unsuccessful.
Trump unsuccessfully attempted to garner support from NATO allies to take the Strait of Hormuz weeks ago before later claiming the U.S. did not need help in reopening the shipping route. Only Canada and five small NATO members (the Czech Republic, Albania, North Macedonia, Lithuania and Latvia) issued public statements of support for the war in Iran a few weeks after it began. Many countries remained neutral amid the initial strikes against Iran, while NATO allies like Spain, Italy, Germany and France have distanced themselves or outright opposed the war. Trump has said he is considering a U.S. withdrawal from NATO—though an action like that would need a two-thirds Senate approval or a formal act of Congress.
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