Trump pulls 5,000 US troops from Germany after leader says US has been 'humiliated' over Iran war

President Trump has instructed the US Defence Department to pull 5,000 US troops from Germany, after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz claimed that the US has been 'humiliated' during the war with Iran.

The president had threatened to drawdown forces earlier in the week, but it was announced on Friday (May 1st) that plans are now official.

It comes after comments the German Chancellor made on Monday (March 27), in which he claimed Iranians were humiliating the US in futile talks to end the war.

Merz, who was speaking to students in Marsberg at the time, claimed that the Iranians were 'obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skilled at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result'.

But it was just weeks ago that the chancellor flew to Washington to meet the president at the White House.

The decision was announced just yesterday (May 1). (Getty Stock Images)

Merz added: "An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards. And so I hope that this ends as quickly as possible."

Trump did not take lightly to the comments, claiming that Merz is 'doing a terrible job' in Germany, and has 'problems of all kinds', including immigration and energy.

In a statement, Pentagon spokesperson, Sean Parnell, said that the instruction to remove 5,000 US troops had come from Trump's defence secretary, Pete Hegseth.

"This decision follows a thorough review of the Department's force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground," he said.

"We expect the withdrawal to be completed over the next six to twelve months."

Trump has long been critical of NATO, but his frustration has intensified in recent months over allies’ refusal to take part in operations in Iran.

But Germany isn't the only European country Trump is looking to pull US troops from.

President Trump hasn't ruled out removing US troops from other European countries. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Asked on Thursday (April 30) whether he would also consider pulling US troops from Italy and Spain, Trump added: "I probably will - look, why shouldn't I?

"Italy has not been of any help to us and Spain has been horrible."

He added: "In all cases they said, 'I don't want to get involved.'"

Tensions between the US and the UK have been rising for many weeks, despite the so-called 'special relationship'.

President Trump has repeatedly criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but a visit from the British royal family has seemingly smoothed things over.