Merz plays down row with Trump over 'humiliation' comment

Published April 29, 2026 Updated April 29, 2026 04:29pm

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has insisted he and Donald Trump are still on good terms after the US president laid into him for saying Iran is “humiliating” Washington at the negotiating table, AFP reports.

“From my point of view, the personal relationship between the American president and myself remains just as good as before,” Merz told a press conference in Berlin.

The German leader said he had expressed doubts about the US-Israeli war on Iran “from the very beginning”.

“We in Germany and in Europe are suffering considerably from the consequences,” Merz said.

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