Trump Does It Again As Ally Backtracks on Comments About Iran

RedState 

Operation Epic Fury has certainly smoked out how feckless some of our NATO allies can be, with their lack of support for our actions against the Iranian regime. 

The leader of one of those allies, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has been extremely critical, calling the action "unnecessary," asserting that we were being "humiliated" by Iran, and that he hoped Operation Epic Fury would end as soon as possible. 

President Trump responded that Merz "doesn’t know what he’s talking about" regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions. 

But now, after a call from President Donald Trump, Chancellor Merz is suddenly striking a more supportive position and making nice with the president. 

“I had a good phone call with Donald Trump on his way back from China. We agree: Iran must come to the negotiating table now. It must open the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons,” Merz wrote in a post on X. 

“We also discussed a peaceful solution for Ukraine and coordinated our positions ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara,” he added. “The U.S. and Germany are strong partners in a strong NATO.” 

Another Trump move may have had some influence. 

Earlier this month, approximately 5,000 U.S. troops were ordered to withdraw from Germany.  

"The Secretary of War has ordered the withdrawal of approximately 5,000 troops from Germany," chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told Fox News Digital at the time.

We still have a number of troops in Germany, however, and important facilities such as Ramstein Air Base. 

The U.S. military has a massive presence in Germany dating back to the aftermath of World War II and the Cold War. More than 36,000 active duty troops were assigned to bases throughout Germany as of last December, along with nearly 1,500 reservists and 11,500 civilians, according to Defense Department figures. 

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said at the time the reduction in troops was due to "a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground.” The U.S. has made other moves to reduce forces in Europe in October 2025, with U.S. European Command saying that it was good because the allies were taking over more of their own responsibility for defense.

We've seen bad actions/words from some of the other allies, like France. They deployed an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East — but they won't do anything until after all the fighting is over, and only in coordination with Iran. So what exactly are they planning on doing, if they aren't going to do anything without Iran? It's sort of laughably silly. But hey, they spent a lot of time talking about their noble intentions. 

But it sounds like Chancellor Merz at least may have finally learned a lesson — blasting an ally on fighting a terrorist regime is a bad look and a bridge too far.