{"id":12437,"date":"2026-05-02T09:17:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T09:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/02\/germany-says-it-foresaw-trumps-withdrawal-of-us-troops-as-row-over-iran-comments-grows-live-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T09:17:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T09:17:04","slug":"germany-says-it-foresaw-trumps-withdrawal-of-us-troops-as-row-over-iran-comments-grows-live-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/02\/germany-says-it-foresaw-trumps-withdrawal-of-us-troops-as-row-over-iran-comments-grows-live-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany says it foresaw Trump\u2019s withdrawal of US troops as row over Iran comments grows \u2013 live – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nato spokesperson Allison Hart<\/strong> said the alliance was working with the US to understand its decision to pull 5,000 American troops from Germany<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Echoing earlier remarks by the German defence minister (see post at 9:35<\/a>), Hart said the move \u201cunderscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defence and take on a greater share of the responsibility\u201d for the region\u2019s security.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In a statement on X, she said:<\/p>\n

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n <\/p>\n

We are working with the US to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany. This adjustment underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defence and take on a greater share of the responsibility for our shared security \u2013 where we\u2019re already seeing progress since allies agreed to invest 5% of GDP at the Nato Summit in The Hague last year. We remain confident in our ability to provide for our deterrence and defence as this shift towards a stronger Europe in a stronger Nato continues.<\/p>\n

n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The US is withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany<\/a>, days after the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, suggested Washington was being outplayed and \u201chumiliated\u201d by Iran.<\/p>\n

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The US president had earlier said<\/a> a \u201cdetermination\u201d on the US military presence in Germany, seen as a key part of Nato\u2019s defences but also vital for the projection of US power in other parts of the world, would be made \u201cover the next short period of time\u201d.<\/p>\n

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In this explainer, we look at why the US has military bases in Germany<\/a>, what role they play, and how Trump\u2019s threat to wind them down may not benefit the US:<\/p>\n

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A senior Iranian military official said renewed fighting between the US and Iran<\/a> was \u201clikely\u201d,<\/strong> according to the Iran\u2019s semi-official Fars news agency.<\/p>\n

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The statement followed reports that Donald Trump<\/a> was \u201cnot satisfied\u201d with a new Iranian proposal to end the war. Iran delivered the proposal to mediator Pakistan<\/strong> on Thursday evening, Iranian state media reported, without detailing its contents.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAt this moment I\u2019m not satisfied with what they\u2019re offering,\u201d the US president said yesterday. He did not elaborate on what he saw as the latest proposal\u2019s shortcomings but blamed stalled talks on \u201ctremendous discord\u201d within Iran\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

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A ceasefire has halted the fighting since 8 April, and attempts have been made for peace talks in Pakistan since then.<\/p>\n

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Mohammad Jafar Asadi,<\/strong> a senior figure in the Iranian military\u2019s central command, said \u201ca renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely\u201d<\/strong>, in quotes published by Fars this morning.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEvidence has shown that the United States is not adhering to any promises or agreements,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe actions and statements of American officials are mostly media-oriented, firstly to prevent the fall in oil prices and secondly to get out of the predicament they have created themselves.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe armed forces are fully prepared for any new American adventure and folly.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, has called on European allies to shoulder more responsibility for their security,<\/strong> after the US announced it would withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Pistorius said the presence of American soldiers in Europe<\/a> was \u201cin our interest and in the interest of the United States\u201d<\/strong>, but added: \u201cIt was foreseeable that the US would withdraw troops from Europe, including Germany.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cWe Europeans must take greater responsibility for our security.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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defence minister Boris Pistorius speaking on stage at an event.”,”caption”:”German defence minister Boris Pistorius speaking at a defence ministry event on Tuesday.”,”credit”:”Photograph: dts News Agency Germany\/Shutterstock”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<\/p>\n

Germany is the US military\u2019s biggest basing location in Europe, with about 35,000 active-duty military personnel,<\/strong> and serves as a key training hub.<\/p>\n

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On Friday, the Pentagon said the withdrawal of troops was expected to be completed over the next six to 12 months.<\/p>\n

“,”elementId”:”7ff19755-e318-4af7-9e31-0f0f67d931e7″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<\/p>\n

The announcement came amid a public feud between the US president, Donald Trump<\/strong>, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz<\/strong>, after the European leader said the US was being \u201chumiliated\u201d<\/strong> by Iran.<\/p>\n

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Pistorius said Germany was \u201con the right track\u201d in taking steps to strengthen the country\u2019s defence capabilities, as he pointed to the expansion of its Bundeswehr armed forces, greater and faster procurement of equipment and the construction of infrastructure.<\/p>\n

“,”elementId”:”ebf66ad9-a21c-4464-8fd3-c4727aec8354″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<\/p>\n

You can read last night\u2019s report on this story here:<\/p>\n

“,”elementId”:”461a4b53-3663-43b3-978a-806aefbb3fc5″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement”,”prefix”:”Related: “,”text”:”US withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany after Merz says US \u2018humiliated\u2019 by Iran”,”elementId”:”995669a1-47ff-45c6-8a4a-a3f2262981b5″,”role”:”thumbnail”,”url”:”https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/01\/trump-threatens-withdraw-troops-italy-spain-strait-hormuz”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1777708687000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”03.58\u00a0EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1777710056000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”04.20\u00a0EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1777709848000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”04.17\u00a0EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”04.17″,”title”:”German defence minister says American troops in Europe ‘in our interest and in the US’s'”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sat 2 May 2026 05.06 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sat 2 May 2026 03.52 EDT”},{“id”:”69f5332c8f08ab365d7fd868″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<\/p>\n

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

“,”elementId”:”c563650c-b65b-46d6-b080-1bbaf60e53a9″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<\/p>\n

The German defence minister, Boris Pistorius,<\/strong> said that it was \u201cforeseeable\u201d that the US would withdraw troops from Europe<\/strong>, after the Pentagon announced it would pull thousands of American soldiers from Germany<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“,”elementId”:”554b4165-8807-4b7b-813f-b492fd707979″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump<\/strong> said on Friday that the US will withdraw 5,000 active-duty troops from Nato ally Germany in the next six to 12 months,<\/strong> fulfilling his earlier threats after clashing with German chancellor Friedrich Merz<\/strong> over the Iran war.<\/p>\n

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Earlier this week, Merz said Iran<\/a> had \u201chumiliated\u201d the US<\/strong> and questioned how Trump planned to end the conflict, saying: \u201cThe Americans obviously have no strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

“,”elementId”:”733b2366-bf4b-4520-abba-7337306c94fb”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<\/p>\n

Responding to the announcement of plans to withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany, Pistorius said: \u201cIt was foreseeable that the US would withdraw troops from Europe<\/a>, including Germany.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

“,”elementId”:”29d34657-a619-49ea-8774-3464f5632f63″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<\/p>\n

He added that Europeans must take greater responsibility for their own security, and that Germany was \u201con the right track\u201d in this regard.<\/p>\n

“,”elementId”:”9eaf1c04-159a-427c-93e5-5a6267c67431″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<\/p>\n

In other developments:<\/p>\n

“,”elementId”:”6a7f6aa5-0f06-4c55-86f6-e2359c56dc4b”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”<\/p>\n