Trump made the remarks in a social media post after Merz said earlier this week that the United States was being “humiliated” by Iran’s leadership and questioned Washington’s strategy in the conflict, which has entered its third month and has disrupted global energy flows.

“The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,” Trump wrote.The threat marked the latest strain in relations between Washington and Berlin as Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO allies for refusing to support the U.S. military campaign against Iran, while European leaders have raised concerns over the economic consequences of prolonged instability in the Gulf.

Merz said on Wednesday that his personal relationship with Trump remained “as good as ever,” but added that he had “had doubts from the very beginning about what was started there with the war in Iran.”Speaking hours before Trump’s post, Merz said Germany and Europe were facing significant economic pressure from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping route through which around one-fifth of global oil supply had moved before the conflict began on Feb. 28.

“We are suffering considerably in Germany and in Europe from the consequences of, for example, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Merz said. “And in that regard, I urge that this conflict be resolved.”The waterway has remained effectively shut since hostilities intensified, adding to volatility in global energy markets and raising fears of wider supply disruptions across Europe and Asia.

Merz, who met Trump at the White House in March shortly after the U.S. and Israel launched bombardments against Iran, had then said Germany was prepared to work with Washington on a strategy for a post-conflict regional order if Iran’s current government were to fall.

He also warned that an extended war could inflict serious damage on the global economy.

Trump, however, has openly attacked the German chancellor in recent days. On Tuesday, he said Merz wrongly believed Iran should be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon and wrote that the German leader “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“It’s no surprise that Germany is doing so poorly, both economically and in other respects,” Trump added.The dispute has revived memories of Trump’s first term, when he sought to withdraw about 9,500 of the roughly 34,500 U.S. troops then stationed in Germany, arguing Berlin was failing to spend enough on defense. That plan was announced in 2020 but never implemented, and former President Joe Biden formally halted it after taking office in 2021.

Germany hosts several major U.S. military installations, including the headquarters of U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command, Ramstein Air Base, and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest American military hospital outside the United States.

Merz said his government remained “on good speaking terms” with the Trump administration despite the latest dispute.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) said the alert was issued in coordination with Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The group, also known as “Fancy Bear,” has been attributed by Western governments to Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU.According to the BfV, APT28 exploited weaknesses in TP-Link routers, affecting several thousand devices worldwide, including about 30 in Germany.

In some cases, authorities confirmed breaches, leading operators to replace compromised hardware.The agency said the campaign was aimed at facilitating surveillance of sensitive targets, including state institutions and key infrastructure networks.

APT28 has previously been linked to cyberattacks against Germany’s parliament, the Social Democratic Party and air traffic control systems, underscoring its long-standing role in espionage operations targeting European institutions.

German authorities urged heightened vigilance and coordination among operators to mitigate risks posed by the ongoing campaign.

Speaking alongside Syrian transitional President Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Berlin, Merz said both governments were seeking to create conditions that would allow more Syrians to return voluntarily to their homeland.

Germany hosts the largest Syrian diaspora in the European Union, with more than one million Syrians, many of whom arrived during the 2015–2016 migrant influx.“We are working jointly toward more Syrians being able to return to their homeland,” Merz said at a joint press conference.

Sharaa said Damascus and Berlin were exploring a “circular” migration framework that would allow Syrians to participate in rebuilding their country while retaining the option to remain in Germany.

Such a model would enable returnees to contribute to reconstruction efforts without permanently relinquishing the economic and social stability they have established abroad, he said.

Merz said Germany intended to support Syria’s reconstruction after years of civil war, adding that a German delegation would travel to Syria in the coming days to advance cooperation.

However, he stressed that deeper bilateral engagement would depend on progress toward establishing rule-of-law institutions.

“Many joint projects in the future will depend on our finding a state governed by the rule of law,” Merz said, adding that he was confident such conditions could be achieved following discussions with Sharaa.

The federal prosecutor’s office said police searched three houses in the western canton (state) of Fribourg early Friday as part of two criminal investigations into alleged extremist activity.

The suspects are alleged to have violated Swiss law banning involvement with al-Qaida, ISIS and related organizations.

Prosecutors said the four people detained are also suspected of having “supported or participated in a criminal organization.”

They identified the four suspects only as a 28-year-old Kosovar woman, a 29-year-old Macedonian, a 26-year-old Kosovar man and a 34-year-old Swiss-Kosovar dual national.

“As they had been in contact with each other, the house searches and arrests were all carried out at the same time,” prosecutors said.