Friedrich Merz says Iran is ‘humiliating’ the US in stunning rebuke as talks stall

WorldPolitics
27 Apr 2026 • 9:11 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Friedrich Merz says Iran is ‘humiliating’ the US in stunning rebuke as talks stall

  • German chancellor Friedrich Merz has criticized the Trump administration, stating the US is being "humiliated" by Iran and questioning its exit strategy from the conflict.
  • "The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result," he 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.
  • Mediation efforts by Pakistani officials to broker a peace agreement between Washington and Tehran have so far failed, with key issues like the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program unresolved.
  • Merz’s abrupt rebuke highlights deep divisions between President Donald Trump and NATO allies after Trump’s repeated verbal attacks over the Iran war.

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