Germany
says it expected Trump’s withdrawal of US troops as row over Iran comments
grows – live
German
defence minister responds to US president’s announcement that 5,000 US troops
will leave bases in Germany
Taz Ali
Sat 2 May
2026 09.20 BST
6m ago
09.17 BST
German
defence minister says American troops in Europe 'in our interest and in the
US's'
The
German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, has called on European allies to
shoulder more responsibility for their security, after the US announced it
would withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany.
Pistorius
said the presence of American soldiers in Europe was “in our interest and in
the interest of the United States”, but added: “It was foreseeable that the US
would withdraw troops from Europe, including Germany.
“We
Europeans must take greater responsibility for our security.”
Germany
is the US military’s biggest basing location in Europe, with about 35,000
active-duty military personnel, and serves as a key training hub.
On
Friday, the Pentagon said the withdrawal of troops was expected to be completed
over the next six to 12 months.
The
announcement came amid a public feud between the US president, Donald Trump,
and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, after the European leader said the US was
being “humiliated” by Iran.
Pistorius
said Germany was “on the right track” in taking steps to strengthen the
country’s defence capabilities, as he pointed to the expansion of its
Bundeswehr armed forces, greater and faster procurement of equipment and the
construction of infrastructure.
You can
read last night’s report on this story here:
31m ago
08.52 BST
Opening
summary
Hello and
welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.
The
German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said that it was “foreseeable” that
the US would withdraw troops from Europe, after the Pentagon announced it would
pull thousands of American soldiers from Germany.
US
President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US will withdraw 5,000
active-duty troops from Nato ally Germany in the next six to 12 months,
fulfilling his earlier threats after clashing with German chancellor Friedrich
Merz over the Iran war.
Earlier
this week, Merz said Iran had “humiliated” the US and questioned how Trump
planned to end the conflict, saying: “The Americans obviously have no
strategy.”
Responding
to the announcement of plans to withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany,
Pistorius said: “It was foreseeable that the US would withdraw troops from
Europe, including Germany.”
He added
that Europeans must take greater responsibility for their own security, and
that Germany was “on the right track” in this regard.
In other
developments:
Trump
said he is “not satisfied” with a new proposal from Iran on ending the war, as
peace talks remain stalled despite a weeks-long ceasefire. Iran delivered the
proposal text to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, Iranian state news
agency Irna reported, without detailing its contents.
The US
state department said it was approving military sales totalling more than
$8.6bn to Middle Eastern allies Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab
Emirates. It came as Washington warned European allies including the UK,
Poland, Lithuania and Estonia to expect long delivery delays for US weapons as
it scrambles to replenish stockpiles depleted by the Iran war, according to a
report in the Fianancial Times citing multiple sources.
In
Lebanon, 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the south, Lebanon’s
health ministry said, including in the town of Habboush, where the Israeli army
had issued an evacuation order despite the continuing ceasefire. Israeli
warplanes “launched a series of heavy strikes … less than an hour after” the
warning, the state-run National News Agency said.
The US
Treasury Office warned that any shipping companies that paid tolls to Iran for
passage through the strait of Hormuz, including charitable donations to
organisations such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, would risk punitive
sanctions. Tehran has proposed charging fees on vessels passing through the
strait, as part of a deal to end the war.
Trump
wrote to US lawmakers on Friday declaring hostilities with Iran “terminated”,
despite no change in the US military posture, as he faces continuing pressure
at home to seek congressional authorisation for the war.
The state
department’s announcement on Friday included approving military sales to Qatar
of Patriot air and missile defence replenishment services costing $4.01bn and
of advanced precision kill weapon systems (APKWS) costing $992.4m. They also
included approval of the sale to Kuwait of an integrated battle command system
costing $2.5bn and to Israel of APKWS costing $992.4m.
Iran’s
supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei urged his people to wage economic
battle and “disappoint” its enemies, as the war and years of sanctions take a
toll. In a written statement he also said “the owners of damaged businesses
should avoid, as much as possible, layoffs and separation of their workforce”.
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