Merz Slams 'Ill-Considered' US Iran War He Once Backed
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- Friedrich Merz called the US war on Iran 'ill-considered,' said he could not see a strategic American exit, and accused Iran of 'very skillfully not negotiating' while humiliating the United States
- IPSOS polling shows 88% of Germans, 82% of French, 83% of British, and 84% of Italians oppose their country's involvement in the Middle East war
- Merz's approval sank to 19%—the lowest among Western leaders—with the anti-war Alternative for Germany now outperforming his Christian Democrats in polls
- Merz's reversal is stark: he praised Israel for doing 'the dirty work' on Europe's behalf after the June 2025 Iran attack and backed the US/Israel February 28 strike, while predicting in January that Iran's regime would fall in weeks
- Germany's E3 alignment: Germany, the UK, and France pushed for snapback of UN Security Council nuclear sanctions on Iran in 2025 and led EU efforts to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization
- Oil prices have surged above $100 per barrel amid a double blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the world's main oil-trade artery
- Mediation is now being handled by Pakistan, Oman, and Turkey—not European powers—because Europe 'is seen not as a helpful broker but as an adjunct to Washington'
Why it matters: Merz's public rebuke of a war he once championed, paired with his 19% approval rating and the AfD's poll lead, has stripped Germany's leader of his domestic mandate on the Iran file. With mediation now outsourced to Pakistan, Oman, and Turkey, Europe has forfeited leverage in a conflict it actively helped escalate through E3 sanctions policy and IRGC designation.
