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.