German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has insisted he will not give up on working with US President Donald Trump, despite a heated dispute over the war in Iran. In an interview with ARD, Merz stated, “I am not giving up on working on the transatlantic relationship. Nor am I giving up on working with Donald Trump.”
The rift began after Merz remarked on 27 April that Iran was “humiliating” Washington at the negotiating table, prompting Trump to label Merz’s performance as “terrible.” Merz downplayed the tensions, arguing that the US decision to pull 5,000 troops from Germany was not retaliatory, saying, “It may be being exaggerated a bit, but it’s not new.”
Merz also addressed the planned deployment of US long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Germany, announced under former President Joe Biden. He confirmed the deployment was on hold due to depleted US arsenals from the wars in Iran and Ukraine, stating, “The Americans themselves don’t have enough at the moment.” However, he added that the “train has not departed” for future cooperation.
Despite Trump’s broader criticism of European leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Merz maintained that he shares Trump’s goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. “We have a different view of this war. That’s no secret,” Merz said, but stressed that the US remains Germany’s most important partner in NATO.
