German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has claimed the United States is being “humiliated” by Iran’s leadership, suggesting the Trump administration is being outwitted at the negotiating table. Speaking to students in Marsberg, Merz said: “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.” His comments deepen the transatlantic rift between the US and its Nato allies.
The remarks come after Donald Trump cancelled a trip by US negotiators to Islamabad for indirect talks with an Iranian delegation. A previous round, led by Vice-President JD Vance, broke up without progress. Trump had earlier told Fox News: “We have all the cards,” adding that if Tehran wanted to talk, “they can come to us, or they can call us”.
Iran has put forward a new proposal for a ceasefire focused on opening the Strait of Hormuz, setting aside discussions on nuclear weapons, missiles and sanctions for later. Under a bill being prepared by Iran’s parliament, shippers would have to pay Tehran for “services” involved in passing through the strait, which was free before the war. The UN’s International Maritime Organization firmly rejected the idea, with Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez stating: “There’s no legal basis for the introduction of any tax, any customs, or any fees on straits for international navigation.”
Mediators see this approach as unlikely to work because it would achieve none of Washington’s war aims, including a permanent end to Iran’s nuclear programme. “Hormuz is a byproduct of the war, so how can this be tackled first?” said a diplomat familiar with the talks. However, the offer suggests a significant shift in Tehran’s position, as the regime had previously sought to use its blockade on oil and gas as leverage for security guarantees.
After the breakdown of talks, Trump imposed a counter-blockade of shipping using Iranian ports, exacerbating Iran’s deep economic crisis. The International Monetary Fund has forecast a 6.1% contraction in Iran’s GDP this year, with year-on-year inflation at nearly 70%. The blockade has also stopped Iran’s empty tankers returning to port, creating storage shortages.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, seeking to mitigate the blockade’s effects. Putin pledged that Russia “will do everything that serves [Iranian] interests, the interests of all the people of the region, so that peace can be achieved as soon as possible”. Analysts say the talks focused on Russian military and economic support, including transit routes via the Caspian Sea.
