German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday delivered a sharp rebuke of the U.S. handling of the Iran conflict, saying Washington lacks an exit strategy and is being “humiliated” by Tehran’s leadership.
“Iran’s leadership was humiliating the United States and getting U.S. officials to travel to Pakistan and then leave without results,” Merz said during a talk to students in the town of Marsberg.
“An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards. And so I hope that this ends as quickly as possible,” he added.
Comparisons to Iraq and Afghanistan
Merz warned: “The problem with such conflicts is always this: You don’t just have to get in; you also have to get out. We saw that very painfully in Afghanistan, for 20 years. We saw it in Iraq.”
The U.S. “clearly went into this war in Iran without any strategy at all,” the chancellor said, adding that he did not believe Washington could end the war quickly “because the Iranians are obviously stronger than expected, and the Americans clearly don’t have a truly convincing strategy in the negotiations either.”
Merz described Iranian officials as “obviously negotiating very skilfully” and appearing “clearly stronger than one thought.”
Deep NATO Divisions
His comments underlined deep divisions between Washington and its European NATO allies, which had already been festering over Ukraine and other issues.
Merz reiterated that Germans and Europeans were not consulted before the U.S. and Israel started attacking Iran on February 28, and that he had conveyed his skepticism directly to Trump afterwards. “If I had known that it would continue like this for five or six weeks and get progressively worse, I would have told him even more emphatically,” Merz said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has harshly criticized NATO allies for not sending their navies to help open the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict. The waterway has remained virtually shut, causing market turmoil and unprecedented disruption in energy supplies.
Economic Toll on Germany
“It’s a rather tricky situation at the moment and it’s costing us a great deal of money. This conflict, this war against Iran, has a direct impact on our economic performance,” Merz said.
Last week, Germany slashed its growth forecast for this year and next, squarely blaming the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Strait of Hormuz Mined
Merz said it was evident the Strait of Hormuz had been at least partially mined. “We have offered, also as Europeans, to send German minesweepers to clear the strait, which has obviously been mined in part,” he said.
Germany has joined a coalition of more than 50 countries – led by France and the United Kingdom – to discuss an international response to securing the strait after fighting between the U.S. and Iran halts.
Diplomatic Efforts Stall
Hopes of reviving peace efforts have receded since Trump scrapped a visit on Saturday by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi travelled to Russia on Monday after failed talks in Pakistan and Oman.
The comments risk driving a further wedge in transatlantic relations.