German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said Iran’s leadership was humiliating the United States and getting US officials to travel to Pakistan and then leave without results, in an unusually abrupt rebuke over the conflict, Reuters reports.

“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,” he said during a talk to students in the town of Marsberg.

Merz also said he did not see what exit strategy the US was pursuing in the Iran war — comments that underlined deep divisions between Washington and its European Nato allies, which had already been festering over Ukraine and other issues.

“An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards. And so I hope that this ends as quickly as possible,” he added.