German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Iran’s current leadership may be nearing its end amid mass protests across the country.
“If a regime can only stay in power through the use of violence, then it is effectively finished,” Merz said on Tuesday during a visit to Bengaluru in India. “I assume that we may now be witnessing the final days and weeks of this regime.”
Merz had already condemned the actions of Iranian security forces against peaceful protesters on Monday, describing them as “disproportionate” and “brutal”.
He said Berlin was in contact with the United States and other European governments with the aim of ensuring “that there can be a peaceful transition to a democratic government in Iran”.
Trump says China and other countries trading with Iran to face additional 25% tariffs
Trump says China and other countries trading with Iran to face additional 25% tariffs
Iran has been gripped since December 28 by its most serious protest wave for years. What began as protests by shopkeepers over a sharp fall in the value of the Iranian rial and mounting economic hardship quickly spiralled into nationwide demonstrations against the country’s hardline Islamic rulers.