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Merz seeks early end to Iran war

AFP March 04, 2026 Less than a minute read

The Secretary General of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Carsten Linnemann, the leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the party’s top candidate for Chancellor Friedrich Merz (C) and cdu board member Silvia Breher react prior the CDU’s leadership meeting at the party’s headquarters in Berlin, on February 24. PHOTO: AFP

WASHINGTON:

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday backed the aims of the US-Israeli war on Iran but called for its early end, voicing fear for the global economy, as he visited the White Hosue.

Merz, who has been among Europe’s more hawkish voices on Iran, became the first foreign leader to see Trump after the United States and Israel began bombing Iran on Saturday.

“This is, of course, damaging our economies. This is true for the oil prices, and this is true for the gas prices as well,” Merz told reporters in the Oval Office as he met Trump. “So that’s the reason why we all hope that this war will come to an end as soon as possible,” Merz said.

But Merz said that he and Trump “are on the same page in terms of getting this terrible regime in Tehran away.”