Germany “temporarily” withdraws part of its troops in Iraq due to “growing tensions” in the Middle East

The German Army has “temporarily” withdrawn part of its contingent in the city of Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, due to the “growing tensions” in the Middle East, in the midst of the United States military deployment in the region despite the latest indirect talks with Tehran to try to reach a new agreement on the Iranian nuclear program.

“Due to rising tensions in the Middle East, we have temporarily withdrawn additional personnel from our contingent in Erbil,” said a spokesperson for the German Ministry of Defense in statements given to Europa Press.

Thus, he stressed that “this is a precautionary measure.” “The protection and safety of German soldiers is our top priority,” he said, while adding that “this action has been closely coordinated with multinational partners.”

German troops are deployed in Erbil as part of an international mission to train Iraq’s security forces.

During the last two weeks, the United States and Iran have maintained two rounds of indirect contacts mediated by the Omani Government, in Oman and Switzerland, without reaching an agreement for now and amid threats from US President Donald Trump about a possible attack if the diplomatic channel does not bear fruit.

Trump, who initially threatened military intervention due to the repression of the latest protests in Iran, later shifted to framing his warnings with the Iranian nuclear program, which Tehran maintains is solely for peaceful purposes and which suffered a severe blow with the Israeli and US bombings in June 2025, which left more than 1,100 dead in the Asian country.

To date, Tehran has shown its distrust of reopening talks with Washington due to the aforementioned offensive, given that it took place in the middle of a diplomatic process between Iran and the United States to reach a new nuclear agreement, after the one signed in 2015 was emptied of content following the unilateral withdrawal of the North American country in 2018 by decision of Trump himself.