Germany's Leader Says Iran Is 'Humiliating' the US

Germany's leader just offered one of the bluntest European critiques yet of Washington's Iran strategy—or lack of one. Speaking to students in Marsberg on Monday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Iran's rulers were "humiliating" the United States by drawing US envoys to Pakistan and sending them home empty-handed, Reuters reports.

• "The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skilful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result," Merz said. "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."

Merz questioned what US "exit strategy" exists in the war, underscoring widening rifts between Washington and European NATO partners already strained by disputes over Ukraine and other issues. He said Washington apparently misjudged the Tehran regime and "has no truly convincing strategy in the negotiations," Politico reports. "The problem with conflicts like these is always the same: it's not just about getting in; you also have to get out," Merz said, per the AP. "We saw that all too painfully in Afghanistan, for 20 years. We saw it in Iraq."

Merz said that Germany and other European countries were not consulted before US and Israeli strikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, and that he voiced his doubts directly to President Trump. The drawn-out conflict, he warned, is costing Germany "a lot of money, a lot of taxpayers' money and a lot of economic strength." Merz said Berlin has offered German minesweepers to help clear the Strait of Hormuz.

• Deutsche Welle reports that Merz also called for greater European unity, noting that the EU has 100 million more people than the US. "If we were to unite more effectively and do more together, we could be at least as strong as the United States of America," he said.