German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the United States is "being humiliated" by Iran and warned there is "no exit strategy" to end the Middle Eastern conflict — an unusually sharp swipe from a staunch Atlanticist, signalling growing European frustration with Washington. Speaking at a school visit in western Germany on Monday, Merz said the US "quite obviously went into this war without any strategy" and had "no truly convincing strategy in the negotiations either", while the Iranians were "very skilfully not negotiating".
The economic backdrop in Germany is bleak. Berlin's economy ministry halved its 2026 growth forecast to 0.5 per cent because of the Iran war, putting the country on track for a fourth consecutive year of stagnation despite a massive infrastructure and defence spending programme. Merz's coalition agreed a €1.6bn short-term package to cushion households from rising fuel prices. Polls show the far-right Alternative for Germany rising to 27 per cent, ahead of Merz's CDU. Defence minister Boris Pistorius even said the Iran conflict was "not our war" after Trump asked Nato to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, although Merz has since pledged minesweepers — but only after a ceasefire.
The chancellor is also worried that the Iran war is squeezing US weapons shipments to Ukraine. He invoked the lessons of "Afghanistan, for 20 years" and Iraq: "the problem with conflicts like this is always: you don't just have to get in, you have to get out again". Source: Financial Times, 27 April 2026, Anne-Sylvaine Chassany.