US said to be withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany over Iran war spat

President Donald Trump has feuded with European allies over their reluctance to step up support for war on Iran.The United States military has said that it will pull 5,000 troops out of Germany amid ongoing tensions with the key European ally concerning the US war against Iran, according to media reports.Reuters reported that the Pentagon made the decision on Friday, several days after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Iran was humiliating the US during negotiations over the end of the war.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump’s threat: Why cutting US troops in Europe won’t be easylist 2 of 3Trump slams Germany’s Merz again as rift over Iran war widenslist 3 of 3Trump scolds Germany’s Merz for criticism of Iran warend of list“The president is rightly reacting to these counterproductive remarks,” the report cites an anonymous official as saying.The news service reported that the withdrawal is expected to take place over the next six to 12 months. The decision was also reported by CBS News, citing senior defence officials.President Donald Trump has lashed out at European allies for not doing more to assist the US-Israel war on Iran, and had stated on Wednesday that he was thinking of pulling troops out of European countries deemed insufficiently supportive.The US outlet Politico reported earlier this week that Trump’s threats to pull troops out of European countries caught the military by surprise, citing several anonymous defence officials and a congressional aide.Trump attacked his German counterpart in another social media post on Thursday, stating that Merz should spend more time trying to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and less time “interfering with those that are getting rid of the Iran Nuclear threat, thereby making the World, including Germany, a safer place”.While European countries have been hesitant to commit their own forces to the US war on Iran, leaders such as Merz were initially hesitant to offer criticism of the US attacks, widely considered illegal under international law.