Trump weighs troop withdrawal from Spain and Italy after Germany decision

‘Why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help to us and Spain has been horrible. Absolutely horrible,’ he said, reinforcing his claim that NATO allies have failed to support Washington during the  Iran conflict.

‘We helped them [Europe] with Ukraine … but when we needed them, they were not there. We have to remember that.’

According to figures from the US Defense Manpower Data Center, there were 12,662 active-duty American personnel stationed in Italy and 3,814 in Spain as of December 2025.

While Madrid has not yet formally reacted to Trump’s comments, Italy’s defence chief Guido Crosetto dismissed the suggestion.

‘I wouldn’t understand the reasons behind it. As is clear to anyone, we haven’t used the Strait of Hormuz. And we’ve even offered to carry out a mission to protect shipping – a gesture that, incidentally, was greatly appreciated by the US military,’ he told the ANSA news agency.

Trump’s remarks echo a separate warning directed at Germany earlier this week, amid rising tensions with Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

‘The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,’ he had said on Wednesday, urging Merz to focus on domestic issues rather than ‘interfering’ in the Iran conflict.

Merz had angered Trump by stating that the US is ‘being humiliated by the Iranian leadership’, as negotiations between Washington and Tehran collapsed.

Later on Friday, the Pentagon confirmed that roughly 5,000 US troops – about 14% of its personnel in Germany -would be withdrawn over the coming year.

The growing rift between Washington and key European allies comes amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, particularly disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz that have rattled global markets.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been openly critical of the war, calling the initial US and Israeli strikes ‘illegal’.

Madrid denied the US access to joint military bases for operations against Iran and closed its airspace to American aircraft involved in the conflict – moves that have drawn repeated criticism from Trump, who in March threatened to cut trade ties with Spain.

Sánchez has also sought to play down reports of a leaked Pentagon email suggesting Washington had considered suspending Spain from NATO as a way to punish ‘difficult’ allies.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – once regarded as a close Trump ally – has likewise stressed her country’s distance from the conflict.

After reports that Italy refused the use of a Sicilian airbase for US operations due to missing authorisation, Trump responded sharply: ‘Italy wasn’t there for us, we won’t be there for them.’

Relations were further strained by Trump’s public clash with Pope Leo.

The US president accused the pontiff of being ‘weak on crime’ and ‘terrible for foreign policy’ after he called for an end to the Iran war.

‘I find President Trump’s words regarding the Holy Father to be unacceptable,’ Meloni said. ‘The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal that he should call for peace and condemn all forms of war.’

Italy remains a predominantly Catholic nation.

Trump later told Corriere della Sera that Meloni herself was ‘unacceptable’, alleging she ‘doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon’.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres warned on Friday that the situation in the Middle East is rapidly deteriorating.

‘The curtailment of navigational rights and freedoms in the area of the Strait of Hormuz disrupts energy, transport, manufacturing and food markets, and strangles the global economy,’ he said.

Guterres called for the full reopening of the strategic waterway and urged “dialogue and measures” to secure a lasting peace.

Main image: Pedro Sánchez and Giorgia Meloni during a meeting in Rome in April 2023 (Pool Moncloa / Fernando Calvo)