Merz Says US Is Being 'Humiliated' by Iran
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- Friedrich Merz said the US is being "humiliated" by Iran's leadership, telling students in Marsberg that Tehran is "very skilful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result"
- Trump cancelled a US negotiating trip to Islamabad two days before Merz's comments, after a previous round led by VP JD Vance two weeks earlier broke up without progress — while Trump separately told Fox News "we have all the cards"
- Iran put forward a new proposal focused solely on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, deferring nuclear, missile, and sanctions talks until after the US blockade ends, with parliament preparing a bill to charge shippers transit fees
- The International Maritime Organization firmly rejected Iran's fee plan, with secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez stating there is "no legal basis for the introduction of any tax, any customs, or any fees on straits for international navigation"
- Trump's counter-blockade on Iranian ports has deepened a severe economic crisis, with the IMF forecasting a 6.1% GDP contraction and year-on-year inflation of nearly 70% for Iran this year
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday seeking Russian military and economic support, including Caspian Sea transit routes after Israel bombed the port of Bandar Anzali in March
- Any deal on Hormuz would leave Iran with its stockpile of 440kg of highly enriched uranium — enough in theory for a dozen nuclear warheads — and the capacity to reconstitute military capabilities "on the cheap," per analysts at the Crisis Group and Chicago Council
Why it matters: Merz's public rebuke directly contradicts Trump's "we have all the cards" framing and signals a widening transatlantic rift, with a Nato ally openly siding with the Iranian view that Washington is being outplayed. Trump's team is now juggling a mid-May Xi summit, World Cup jet fuel concerns, and domestic fuel-price pressure, while Iran's "Hormuz first" gambit could let Tehran hold onto 440kg of enriched uranium — enough for roughly a dozen warheads — regardless of any deal.
