President Donald Trump has ordered the withdrawal of approximately 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany, scaling back America&#8217;s military presence in Europe to levels seen before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“The Secretary of War has ordered the withdrawal of approximately 5,000 troops from Germany,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said. “This decision follows a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground. We expect the withdrawal to be completed over the next six to twelve months.”
The move comes after months of criticism from Trump, who has accused NATO allies of failing to support U.S. operations against the Iranian regime and efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which he says Europe relies on more heavily.
Trump has described the 32-member NATO alliance as a “paper tiger” and a “one-way street.”
He has also been in a public feud with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, accusing him of downplaying the threat posed by Iran and warning that such positions could have serious global consequences.
“The Chancellor of Germany… thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” Trump posted on social media on Tuesday, adding that if Iran obtained such a weapon, “the whole World would be held hostage.”
Merz had earlier accused Iran of stalling negotiations and humiliating the United States.
A senior Defense Department official told The Daily Wire that the troop reduction reflects the administration&#8217;s frustration with European allies.
“The Europeans have not stepped up when America needed them. This cannot be a one-way street,” a senior Department of War official told The Daily Wire. “The President has been very clear about his frustrations about our allies’ rhetoric and failure to provide support for U.S. operations that benefit them.”
The official added that the president is directly reacting to German rhetoric, which has been “inappropriate and unhelpful.”
The withdrawal will primarily affect a brigade combat team and other forces stationed in Germany. It also halts a planned deployment of a long-range fires battalion that had been scheduled to arrive later this year under a Biden-era plan.
Officials said the directive takes effect immediately, though details about the specific units and movement timelines remain limited.
 The decision is part of a broader strategic realignment focused on the homeland, Western Hemisphere, and Indo-Pacific, while restoring readiness across the military, particularly within the Army.
It would also bring U.S. troop levels in Europe closer to pre-2022 levels, before forces surged in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a buildup, officials emphasized, that was always intended to be temporary.
“The President’s decision also sends a very clear signal about how important it is for Germany and other allies to take primary responsibility for Europe’s defense,” the official said.
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Trump Pulls Troops From Europe And Sends ‘Allies’ Blunt Message: It’s A Two-Way Street

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Operation Epic Fury

The FBI is investigating former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent over allegations that he improperly shared classified information, a source familiar with the investigation told The Daily Wire.
Kent resigned Tuesday in protest of the ongoing war against Iran’s Islamic regime, arguing in his resignation letter that the regime “posed no imminent threat to our nation. He also accused President Trump of initiating the conflict due to “pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
<a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/03/18/2026/fbi-investigates-national-security-aide-who-resigned-over-war">Semafor</a>, which first reported the story, confirmed with four sources that the leaking probe was already underway prior to Kent’s departure and has been ongoing for months. One source described the investigation as long-running, rather than a response to his resignation.
Following his departure, people in Trump’s orbit <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-intel-official-joe-kent-quits-over-iran-strikes-claims-israel-controls-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">accused him</a> of leaking, with one calling him a “crazed egomaniac.”
“Joe Kent is a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work,” said Taylor Budowich, the former deputy White House chief of staff. “He spent all of his time working to subvert the chain of command and undermine the President of the United States.”
“This isn’t some principled resignation—he just wanted to make a splash before getting canned. What a loser.”
President Trump pushed back on Kent’s claim, calling his departure “a good thing.”
“When I read his statement, I realized that it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat,” Trump said. “Iran was a tremendous threat.”
He added, “I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security.”
In a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe directly contradicted Kent.
&#8220;I think Iran has been a constant threat to the United States for an extended period of time and posed an immediate threat,&#8221; he said.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and the FBI declined to comment.

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Former Counterterror Chief Joe Kent Under FBI Probe For Leaking Classified Info

Joe Kent

The Trump administration on Tuesday announced new sanctions against two Iranian petroleum magnates who use their business to funnel revenue to the Iranian regime — one of whom was caught last year attempting to export cargo to China from off the coast of Houston.
Petroleum magnate, Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh, his son Meisam Emamjomeh, and his corporate network — now sanctioned by the Trump administration — are responsible for shipping hundreds of millions of dollars worth of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) to foreign markets, <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0093">according</a> to the Treasury Department. LPG is a large source of revenue for the Iranian regime, which funds regional terrorist proxy groups including Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Hamas.
The sanctions come as the Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-saturdays-nuclear-talks-between-the-u-s-and-iran?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Here%E2%80%99s+What+You+Need+To+Know+About+Saturday%E2%80%99s+Nuclear+Talks+Between+The+U.S.+And+Iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attempts to negotiate</a> a nuclear deal with the Iranian regime while also keeping up its maximum pressure campaign. The sanctions were announced by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and are in line with Executive Order 13902, which targets those operating in certain sectors of the Iranian economy.
“Emamjomeh and his network sought to export thousands of shipments of LPG—including from the United States—to evade U.S. sanctions and generate revenue for Iran,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “The United States remains committed to holding accountable those who seek to provide the Iranian regime with the funding it needs to further its destabilizing activities in the region and around the world.”
Under the sanctions, &#8220;all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC,&#8221; according to the Treasury Department. All transactions by American citizens or within the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designees are prohibited. Violations may result in civil and criminal penalties, according to OFAC.
OFAC added that its power comes from its ability to both add and remove people to a sanction list, stating that “the ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior.”
Emamjomeh, who is based in Iran, and Meisam, a UAE-based British-Iranian, have owned and operated an LPG sales, transportation, and delivery network through multiple companies in Iran and the UAE for over a decade, according to the Treasury Department.
TINOS I, a large gas carrier vessel in the network, attempted to load LPG off the coast of Houston, Texas, to sell to China in June 2024, according to Lloyd’s List, which <a href="https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1153240/EXCLUSIVE-How-an-LPG-tankers-maiden-voyage-ended-with-the-US-sanctioning-a-sprawling-Iranian-gas-network" target="_blank" rel="noopener">took credit for alerting</a> American authorities about the ship when it was en route to Houston.
According to the maritime news outlet, TINOS I, built in 2024, was on its maiden voyage before sitting at anchor following Lloyd’s list asking authorities for comment. Pearl Petrochemical told Lloyd’s List that it received a license from OFAC but did not specify if it was permitted to lift cargoes in the United States.
Until October 2024, Emamjomeh owned UAE-based Pearl Petrochemical FZE, the beneficial owner of TINOS I, before ownership passed to Meisam.
&#8220;Emamjomeh also owns or controls nine additional LPG companies in Iran, including, reportedly, one company with a monopoly on the National Iranian Gas Company’s LPG deliveries,&#8221; the Treasury Department reported. &#8220;Meisam acts as director and chief executive officer (CEO) of United Kingdom-based Worldwide LPG Limited, while also serving on the board of directors of many of Emamjomeh’s Iran-based companies.&#8221;
One of Emamjomeh’s UAE-based companies, Caspian Petrochemical FZE, is &#8220;part of a network that has exported thousands of shipments of LPG from Iran to Pakistan and [has] conducted tens of millions of dollars in business on behalf of Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co. (PGPICC).&#8221;
PGPICC has been designated by OFAC since July 2019 for being owned or controlled by Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC), which was also designated on the same day for providing financial support to Khatam al-Anbiya, the engineering conglomerate of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Emamjomeh’s designation is the consequence of his operating in the petroleum sector of the Iranian economy. The designation will extend to several of the companies he owns or controls, including Caspian Petrochemical FZE, Parsa Fidar Paydar Engineering and Technology Company, Nilgon Parsa Caspian Shipping Company, Arsa Gas Company, Pasar Gas Company, Petro Parsa Caspian Iranian Company, Pasar Gas Novin Trading Company, Parsa Salakh Qeshm Industrial Complex, Parsa Trabar Caspian International Transportation Company, and Parsa Trabar Persia International Transportation Company.
Meisam and his Pearl Petrochemical FZE and Worldwide LPG Limited are also being designated, according to the Treasury Department&#8217;s announcement, on similar grounds. The TINOS I will be identified “as property in which Pearl Petrochemical FZE has an interest.&#8221;

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Kassy Akiva and Mary Margaret Olohan

Trump Pulls Troops From Europe And Sends ‘Allies’ Blunt Message: It’s A Two-Way Street

Former Counterterror Chief Joe Kent Under FBI Probe For Leaking Classified Info

Trump Sanctions Iranian Petroleum Magnate Caught Trying To Move Oil From Texas