Germany says it expected Trump’s withdrawal of US troops as row over Iran comments grows – live | US-Israel war on Iran
Opening summary: German defence minister ‘foresaw’ withdrawal of US troops
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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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”.
Key events
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said suspicious activity had been reported 84 nautical miles southwest of the port of Mukalla in Yemen.
A bulk carrier reported that a small boat and a fishing vessel came within 500m of it, according to UKMTO.
Since the US-Israeli war against Iran began on 28 February, reports coming into UKMTO have gone “through the roof”, particularly in the strait of Hormuz, according to the Royal Navy, which runs the centre. UKMTO recorded 41 incidents between 1 March and 27 April, the majority of which were attacks where ships were damaged, their crew harmed, or they suffered collateral damage.
“The most distressing calls are those from ships under attack,” said Cmdr Jo Black, UKMTO head of operations.
“It’s an absolutely terrifying experience for them – they’re civilians, they’re not prepared for this – drones, missiles, small arms fire aimed at their bridge or engine room, and threats to their safety – so they’re stressed, many speak only very rudimentary English and they’re trying to describe things often beyond their comprehension.
Hope out of chaos: how the dark era of Trump is creating a new approach to global politics
Patrick Wintour
Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Brazil’s ambassador to London, had no difficulty joining the dystopians describing the modern world in a recent speech, a world suffering from “global warming and environmental degradation, multiple conflicts, rising military budgets, disregard for international law and international humanitarian law, disruptions to trade, erosion of democratic governance and technological developments that are met with excitement and fear”.
Yet beneath the surface, he said, “something is happening. Something is moving.”
The change Patriota could detect in “the global north” was a new division into “two poles, a unilateralist superpower on the one hand and a majority of multilateralists on the other”.
“The highly unpopular and illegal war in Iran is fast becoming a vivid example of the chaos and instability bred by unilateralism,” he said. “It is laying bare a perception that the world will not be made unipolar again.”
The argument that the current dark era of American unilateralism and lawless militarism may be coming to a premature end, sinking below the waters in the strait of Hormuz, is gathering momentum as other western countries recover their poise and place long-term bets that they can no longer cower under the US security blanket.
They have seen what meagre protection that blanket provided for the Gulf monarchies and how little it has promoted European interests in Ukraine, and many have finally realised they are better off with different, diverse friendship groups.
Read the full report here:
Here is the full statement from German defence minister Boris Pistorius in response to the US’s decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany:
double quotation mark The presence of American troops in Europe, particularly in Germany, serves the interests of both the US and ourselves.We collaborate closely with our US partners in Ramstein, Grafenwöhr, Frankfurt and elsewhere – to foster peace and security in Europe, to support Ukraine and to uphold joint deterrence. The US presence in Europe also serve its own security interests in Africa and the Middle East.
It was anticipated that the US might withdraw troops from Europe, including Germany. Latest reports speak of 5,000 of a total of almost 40,000 US soldiers stationed in Germany.
One thing is clear: if we are to remain transatlantic, we must strengthen the European pillar within Nato. In other words: as Europeans, we must take on more responsibility for our own security. Germany is on track. We are building up our defence: our armed forces are expanding, we are procuring equipment faster and in greater quantities, we are focusing on innovation, and we are building more infrastructure.
We coordinate all of our efforts closely with our allies, for example within the Group of Five with the United Kingdom, France, Poland and Italy.
IDF says it launched 50 strikes in southern Lebanon amid ceasefire
In Lebanon, the Israeli military said it has continued to strike what it described as Hezbollah targets across the south of the country despite an ongoing ceasefire.
In a post on X this morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it launched 50 strikes in the last day in southern Lebanon, saying it destroyed Hezbollah infrastructure in several areas.
It also said Hezbollah had “fired a number of rockets” toward IDF forces operating in southern Lebanon which landed “in open areas”.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported seven people were killed in Israeli attacks in the southern Lebanese district of Nabatieh.
Nato says it is working with US to understand decision to withdraw troops from Germany
Nato spokesperson Allison Hart said the alliance was working with the US to understand its decision to pull 5,000 American troops from Germany.
Echoing earlier remarks by the German defence minister (see post at 9:35), Hart said the move “underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defence and take on a greater share of the responsibility” for the region’s security.
In a statement on X, she said:
double quotation mark 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 – where we’re 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.
Why does the US have military bases in Germany?
Jon Henley
The US is withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, days after the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, suggested Washington was being outplayed and “humiliated” by Iran.
The US president had earlier said a “determination” on the US military presence in Germany, seen as a key part of Nato’s defences but also vital for the projection of US power in other parts of the world, would be made “over the next short period of time”.
In this explainer, we look at why the US has military bases in Germany, what role they play, and how Trump’s threat to wind them down may not benefit the US:
As a reminder on Iran’s new peace proposal, state media reported that Tehran handed the offer to Pakistan on Thursday night, to pass on to Washington, though its contents were not immediately clear.
Commenting on the proposal last night, Donald Trump said: “They’re asking for things I can’t agree to.”
Pakistan, which is working to restart US-Iran talks in Islamabad, said it believes a deal is within reach, but there has been no reported progress since the failed round of negotiations on 11 and 12 April.
You can read our earlier report on this story here:
Iran says war with US will ‘likely’ resume
A senior Iranian military official said renewed fighting between the US and Iran was “likely”, according to the Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency.
The statement followed reports that Donald Trump was “not satisfied” with a new Iranian proposal to end the war. Iran delivered the proposal to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, Iranian state media reported, without detailing its contents.
“At this moment I’m not satisfied with what they’re offering,” the US president said yesterday. He did not elaborate on what he saw as the latest proposal’s shortcomings but blamed stalled talks on “tremendous discord” within Iran’s leadership.
A ceasefire has halted the fighting since 8 April, and attempts have been made for peace talks in Pakistan since then.
Mohammad Jafar Asadi, a senior figure in the Iranian military’s central command, said “a renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely”, in quotes published by Fars this morning.
“Evidence has shown that the United States is not adhering to any promises or agreements,” he added.
“The 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.
“The armed forces are fully prepared for any new American adventure and folly.”
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:
Opening summary: German defence minister ‘foresaw’ withdrawal of US troops
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”.
