US President Donald Trump stated the possibility of withdrawing US forces from Italy and Spain, in a new escalation of his dispute with NATO over the war on Iran. According to an internal message from the Pentagon, Washington is examining options to punish European countries accused of failing to support military operations, including suspending Spain’s membership in the alliance, at a time when more than half of the approximately 68,000 American military personnel deployed in Europe are concentrated in Germany.
Published on: 01/05/2026 - 02:56 Last updated: 01/05/2026 - 07:11
US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that it was "possible" to withdraw US forces from Italy and Spain, in response to a question about whether he would consider taking this step.
This position comes only one day after his previous statement in which he confirmed that Washington is considering reducing the number of military personnel deployed in Germany.
In a related context, Trump escalated his sharp criticism of NATO members, accusing them of not sending naval forces to help open the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed to global navigation since the start of the US-Israeli air war on Iran on February 28.
He also hinted at the possibility of withdrawing the United States from the alliance.
Read also: Trump's legal deadline for the Iran war ends on Friday, and there is no sign of stopping the fighting
An internal email from the US Department of Defense (Pentagon), which was published by Reuters last week, indicates that there are options available to punish NATO member states that Washington believes have failed to support US operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain’s membership in NATO.
This month, Trump raised the idea of withdrawing part of the American forces from Europe, while yesterday, Wednesday, he confirmed that his administration was considering reducing the number of military personnel in Germany, indicating that a final decision would be taken soon.
When asked today whether he would also move to withdraw American forces from Italy and Spain, two countries that criticized the war on Iran, Trump responded by saying, “Maybe... Look, why not? Italy did not provide us with any help, and Spain was very bad, very bad.”
Tensions with Madrid go back to last month, when Trump threatened to impose a comprehensive US trade embargo on Spain, after it refused to allow the US military to use its bases for missions related to strikes on Iran.
According to Pentagon data, the United States had, as of December 2025, slightly more than 68,000 active-duty soldiers permanently assigned to its foreign bases in Europe, and more than half of these, or about 36,400 soldiers, are stationed in Germany.
France 24/Reuters
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