Germany’s Merz downplays rift with Washington despite US troop drawdown

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has tried to downplay tensions with the United States after Washington announced plans to reduce the number of American troops in Germany.

Merz said on Sunday that US plans to withdraw troops have “no connection” to the rift with President Donald Trump over his strategy in Iran.

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“I remain convinced that the Americans are the most important partner for us in the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO),” Merz told broadcaster ARD in an interview set to be fully aired later.

Trouble started last Monday when Merz appeared to criticise Trump’s actions in Iran, where the US and Israel started a war without consulting Washington’s NATO allies.

Iran was “humiliating” the US, Merz said, warning that Washington did not have a clear path out of the conflict. Foreign Affairs Minister Johann Wadephul later tried to walk back the comments, saying that Merz was referring to Iran’s “bad behaviour” in peace talks.

That did not appear to remove the sting for Washington. Trump scolded Merz over the remarks, saying the German leader “doesn’t know what he is talking about” and threatening to withdraw American soldiers.

On Friday, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the withdrawal of around 5,000 American soldiers over the next 12 months.

That’s expected to cut the number of US troops in the country by about 14 percent. Germany hosts the highest number of US troops in Europe—about 36,000 soldiers. Italy hosts about 12,000, with 10,000 in the UK.

Trump also announced on Friday increased tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union, of which Germany produces the highest numbers.

NATO-US alliance under pressure

Germany has been one of the most loyal allies of the US and Israel, with Berlin being one of Israel’s most important weapons suppliers.

Merz backed Israel’s attacks on Iran last year, saying that it was “doing the dirty work for all of us”.

Germany has also consistently backed Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, while cracking down on pro-Palestine demonstrators at home through mass arrests, profiling and censorship.

With the sting of rising oil and commodity prices, however, Merz appeared to change his views on the US and Israel’s war in Iran.

Trump has long criticised Washington’s NATO allies in the EU for overly relying on the US, spurring governments such as Germany to begin boosting defence spending and upgrading weaponry.

Washington intensified those criticisms in recent weeks as EU countries refused to directly participate in the war against Iran or help to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Spain, in particular, has been publicly vocal in its criticism of the war and closed its airspace to the US military amid the bombing campaign on Iran.

On Sunday, Trump shared an article from the far-right news website Breitbart on social media reiterating his earlier comment, titled: “Trump Tells German Chancellor Merz ‘Fix Your Broken Country,’ Mulls Pulling U.S. Troops from Spain and Italy”.

About 4,000 US troops are based in Spain.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday that the US decision to draw down troops in Germany “was foreseeable”.

Speaking to the DPA news agency, Pistorius stressed the US-Europe relationship was important but also that “Europeans must assume more responsibility for our security”.

NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart posted on X that the alliance is “working with the US to understand the details of their decision”.