The Pentagon announced on Friday that it is planning to withdraw about 5,000 US troops from Germany. This announcement came after Merz's remarks about the United States being "planless" in its military aggression on Iran and "humiliated by the Iranian leadership," Xinhua reported.
During an interview with public broadcaster ARD, Merz also confirmed that the United States will not station Tomahawk cruise missiles in Germany for the time being, but he believed that the plan has not been permanently abandoned.
The Tomahawk weapon systems were originally pledged by former US president Joe Biden in 2024 to bolster European deterrence. Along with the troop cut announcement, multiple US media outlets recently said the United States has also canceled the plan to reinforce European troops.
"The Americans currently do not have enough themselves," Merz said. Calling the United States Germany's most important partner within NATO, he noted that the US decision to withdraw US troops has no connection with his earlier criticism of Trump