Key insights
- Trump criticized German Chancellor Merz over Iran, highlighting divisions between the US and European allies. Merz questioned the US strategy in the Iran conflict, underscoring existing tensions over Ukraine. This disagreement introduces uncertainty into international relations, potentially creating headwinds for global markets and risk sentiment.
WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war in Iran on Tuesday, a day after Merz said the Iranians were humiliating the United States in talks to end it.
"The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, mischaracterizing Merz’s position. Merz has said Iran must not have a nuclear weapon.
Merz said on Monday that Iran’s leadership was humiliatingthe United States and getting U.S. officials to travel to Pakistan and then leave without results, in an unusually pointed rebuke over the conflict.
Merz also said he did not see what exit strategy the U.S. was pursuing in the Iran war - comments that underlined deep divisions between Washington and its European NATO allies, which had already been festering over Ukraine and other issues.