WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS/BERLIN - US President Donald Trump said Saturday the United States plans to withdraw "a lot further" than the 5,000 troops the Pentagon said earlier this week will leave Germany.

"We're going to cut way down and we're cutting a lot further than 5,000," Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One in the southeastern US state of Florida.

Meanwhile, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said Saturday it was working with the United States to understand Washington's decision to withdraw troops from Germany, amid fresh tensions between the United States and Germany over the Middle East crisis.

The move came after Trump criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the German leader's remarks that Iran was "humiliating" Washington in negotiations to end the war in the Middle East.

On Friday, the Pentagon said it is planning to withdraw about 5,000 US troops from Germany, a process expected to be completed within six to 12 months.

NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said in a post on social media platform X that the alliance was "working with the US to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany."

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Hart said the adjustment highlighted the need for Europe to continue increasing defense investment and take on a greater share of responsibility for shared security, noting that the allies had already agreed to invest five percent of gross domestic product.

She added that NATO remained confident in its ability to provide deterrence and defense as the alliance moves toward what she called "a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO."

Also on Saturday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the planned withdrawal of US troops from Germany was "foreseeable" and called on Europe to take greater responsibility for its own security.

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In an interview with the German Press Agency (DPA), Pistorius emphasized that the presence of US soldiers in Europe, and specifically in Germany, is in the interest of both Berlin and Washington.

To maintain a strong transatlantic bond, NATO must become more "European," Pistorius said, adding that "we Europeans must take greater responsibility for our security."