German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and US President Donald Trump held a phone call on Friday, according to the German leader, who appeared keen to patch things up after sparking Trump’s ire with unabashed criticism of the US war on Iran.
Merz wrote on X that he had had “a good talk” with Trump while the US president was on his way back from a state visit to China.
“We agree: Iran must come to the negotiating table now. It must open the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons,” Merz said.
US-German relations have been tense since Merz publicly accused of Washington of lacking a clear strategy in Iran.
Speaking in front of German school children in late April, Merz said the Iranian government has “humiliated” the United States in negotiations.
Trump responded by dismissing Merz as a “totally ineffective” leader of a “broken country” who “thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
A few days later, the Pentagon said it would pull around 5,000 US service members from bases in Germany.
In a follow-up post on Friday, Merz said he and Trump had also discussed efforts to end the war in Ukraine, while also coordinating their positions ahead of a NATO summit scheduled to take place in Ankara in July.
“The U.S. and Germany are strong partners in a strong NATO,” Merz wrote.
Trump has repeatedly clashed with NATO allies and has suggested he could pull the US out of the alliance, citing defence spending disputes and what he describes as insufficient support for US military actions in Iran.