U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the withdrawal of about 5,000 troops from Germany within the next year, the Pentagon said, in the latest spat with a European leader over the West Asia war.

The announcement came after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened earlier this week to remove troops from NATO ally Germany amid a row with its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said that Iran was “humiliating” Washington at the negotiating table.

“We expect the withdrawal to be completed over the next six to twelve months,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

— AFP