In response to the escalation of the Iran conflict, Germany has decided to pull its Bundeswehr soldiers stationed in Baghdad and the staff of the German Embassy in the Iraqi capital. The announcement was made to the relevant parliamentary committees on Friday afternoon. The troops and embassy personnel will be relocated to Jordan, where two A400M transport aircraft are ready to receive them. Soldiers who had been stationed in Bahrain have already returned home. Similar withdrawal plans are underway for forces in Kuwait and for the UNIFIL contingent withdrawn from Lebanon.
According to official statements, Germany had deployed just over 500 personnel in the Middle East. During the weekend, multinational camps in northern Iraq and Jordan-where German soldiers were also present-came under fire. Early this week coalition circles reported that, as a consequence of the Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran and subsequent Iranian counter‑attacks, some soldiers were withdrawn from camps, redeployed in a more decentralized manner, and overall contingents were reduced.
