US President Donald Trump has harshly criticised Germany’s Chancellor after the latter apparently lauded the negotiation tactics of the Islamist regime of Iran.
In a post on his own social network Truth Social late on April 28, Trump wrote: “The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! If Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, the whole World would be held hostage.
“I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago. No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise!”
President Trump on Truth Social: The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.
He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! If Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, the whole World would be held hostage. I am doing something with Iran, right now,… pic.twitter.com/6T5qHR8hYN
— Donald J Trump Posts TruthSocial (@TruthTrumpPost) April 28, 2026
Trump’s post followed remarks by Merz in which he said the Iranian regime was “humiliating” the US administration with its negotiation techniques.
Speaking to students of a high school in Marsberg – a town 20km from Merz’s birthplace of Brilon in North Rhine Westphalia – the Chancellor had accused Trump on April 27 of having started the Iran war “quite obviously without any strategy”.
He continued: “This is complicating things because the Iranians are obviously negotiating very smartly – or perhaps are smartly not negotiating … A whole nation is being humiliated by the Iranian regime.”
Merz went on to compare the Iran war with the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001: “The problem with such conflicts is always: You do not just have to go in; you also need to get out. We saw this painfully in Afghanistan over the course of 20 years.”
Trump’s harsh criticism of the German Chancellor made headlines in Germany on April 29.
The apparent rift marks a serious deterioration of the relationship between Merz and the US President. In March 2026, Merz had still visited Trump at the White House in an amiable atmosphere and joined the US President’s criticism of Spain for failing to meet its NATO defence spending targets.
Merz himself stuck to his guns on April 29, telling media in Berlin that the Iran war had “direct consequences for our economic performance” and urging a rapid end to the conflict.
He said his personal relationship with Trump was “still good”, adding: “We are still in good talks with each other.”
