US Weighs Pulling One-Third of Troops From Europe Amid Tensions Over Iran War

The United States is reportedly considering a significant reduction in its military presence in Europe after its allies there refused to allow Washington to use their airbases for the war on Iran. US media reported this week that senior Pentagon commanders are expected to submit plans to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the coming days. The news comes amid Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine and as European countries increasingly sound the alarm about possible sabotage operations on their territory; Germany accused Russia of a drone attack on an airport earlier this month.

Europe has, for decades, depended on its partnership with Washington via the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to deter a possible Russian attack. However, relations between some European capitals and Washington have deteriorated in the past year.

The Pentagon is weighing several possible options for reducing troops and military assets in Europe as part of a NATO review it announced in June, according to NBC News, which cited security sources. Hegseth alluded to the review at a NATO meeting in Brussels in June, when he lashed out at fellow members and said new changes would be “designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversible toward Europe leasing and stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defence of Europe”.

Hegseth said European allies’ decision not to provide US forces with access to bases in Europe to launch attacks on Iran was “shameful”. “These allies, they put America’s sons and daughters, our sons and daughters, at risk by denying them the predictable access, basing and overflight that never should have been in question at all.”

One option under consideration could be to withdraw one-third of the estimated 68,000 US troops stationed in Europe, largely affecting soldiers stationed in Germany, Italy and Spain, according to NBC. A second, more drastic scenario could see 40,000 soldiers exit, along with military aircraft, ships, and weapons. The US may also consider moving troops away from stations in Central or Western Europe to NATO’s eastern flank, closer to Russia. Hegseth is expected to reach a final decision by November 6.

The US has already begun withdrawing some troops. About half of the 2,000 US soldiers stationed in Romania departed last year, and some 5,000 US troops are in the process of withdrawing from Germany. The announcement of their withdrawal in May came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised the US’s war on Iran. US President Donald Trump threatened to go “a lot further”, but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly blocked the White House from withdrawing as many as 25,000 soldiers at the time.

A mass exit of troops and assets would undermine the US’s nuclear deterrence posture on the continent, said Ian Lesser of the German Marshall Fund. While Russia is not likely to attack NATO members, Moscow would certainly see advantages in such a development. If troops are moved from Western Europe to the eastern flank, it might not be as concerning since countries like Germany and France are rapidly boosting their military capabilities, Lesser noted. However, the US would also lose out by reducing its ability to project power across Europe, a concern echoed by Republican Senators Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers.

Relations have soured due to Trump’s repeated accusations that European NATO members force the US to carry most of the financial burden, as well as European refusal to join the US-Israel war on Iran. Additional friction has been caused by trade tariffs, disputes over Greenland, and wider US military diversions toward the Middle East that have impacted traditional allies like Taiwan and Gulf partners.