German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said today that the United States is “being humiliated” by Iran as he criticized Washington’s attempts to extricate itself from a war it entered without laying out clear objectives.
“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 during a visit to a school in Marsberg, central Germany.
He criticized what he called a lack of American strategy, pointing to Iraq and Afghanistan as warnings for entering wars without exit strategies.
“The whole affair is ill-considered to say the least,” Merz said. “At the moment, I cannot see what strategic exit the Americans are now opting for.”
He reiterated Berlin’s desire for the war to end as soon as possible to avoid further damage to the world’s economy.
Germany has been part of a coalition, led by Britain and France, which is seeking to secure safe passage for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz after a permanent ceasefire is reached.
“We offered to send in minesweeper boats from Germany to help free the passage from mines, as it has clearly been, at least partially, mined,” he said, according to a Reuters translation.
“We can help there, but first the fighting needs to end. And at the moment I do not see how this can be realized in the near future because the Iranians are clearly stronger than one thought, and the Americans clearly don’t seem to have a convincing negotiating strategy.”