DEPOK RUBLIC — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz believes that Iran has succeeded in embarrassing the United States in the dynamics of the latest negotiations regarding the Middle East conflict. Merz made this statement when speaking to students in the city of Marsberg, Germany, on Monday, while highlighting the failure of Washington’s diplomacy in negotiations with Tehran in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Merz Highlights the Failure of United States Diplomacy
Friedrich Merz said the Iranian leadership demonstrated very strong negotiating skills by having United States officials come to Islamabad without producing any agreement. In his view, this situation is proof that Tehran is able to play an effective diplomatic strategy amidst international pressure.
“Obviously Iran is very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skilled at not negotiating, allowing the Americans to travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any results,” Merz said.
He emphasized that this condition makes the United States appear to have lost direction in its strategy to deal with Iran, especially because until now there is no clear way out of the ongoing conflict.
Germany criticizes US and Israeli military steps
Merz also highlighted the decision of the United States and Israel to launch attacks on Iran on February 28 without prior consultation with European countries. According to him, Germany and its European allies were not involved in making these strategic decisions.
He emphasized that the German government had expressed doubts directly to United States President Donald Trump after the attacks began. However, according to Merz, the escalation of the conflict turned out to be developing further than previously thought.
“If I had known that it would continue like this for five or six weeks and get worse, I would have told him more forcefully,” he said.
US and European tensions increasingly visible
Merz’s comments are seen as showing the widening distance between Washington and its NATO allies in Europe. Previously, these tensions also emerged over the Ukraine issue and various other geopolitical issues involving the Western alliance.
President Donald Trump himself previously repeatedly criticized NATO allies for not helping the United States in reopening the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict. This strategic shipping lane is said to remain closed and trigger major disruption to the global energy market.
