Trump is considering withdrawing US troops from Italy and Spain
On 30 April in Washington, Donald Trump replied “probably” when asked whether he was considering withdrawing US troops from Italy and Spain. This came a day after it was announced that the administration was looking into reducing troop numbers in Germany.
The President sharply criticised NATO allies for failing to deploy their naval forces to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which had been closed to shipping following the start of the US and Israeli air campaign against Iran on 28 February. He also stated that he was considering the possibility of the United States withdrawing from the alliance.
According to Reuters, an internal Pentagon memo outlined options regarding allies whom Washington believed had failed to support US operations in the war with Iran. Among these was the possibility of suspending Spain’s membership of NATO.
Earlier in April, Donald Trump had already raised the issue of reducing the US military presence in Europe. On 29 April, he stated that a decision regarding the contingent in Germany would be made in the near future.
Responding to a question about Italy and Spain, Trump said he saw no reason to back down from such a move. According to him, Italy “did not provide assistance”, whilst Spain had acted “very badly”.
Last month, the president also threatened to impose a full trade embargo on Spain after it refused to allow the use of US military bases for operations related to strikes against Iran.
As of December 2025, there were over 68,000 US military personnel stationed in Europe. More than half of them, around 36,400, were in Germany.
