Donald Trump has issued a warning over Iran’s nuclear capabilities to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who on Monday suggested Iran was ‘humiliating’ the US
20:14, 28 Apr 2026Updated 20:35, 28 Apr 2026
Trump hit back at Merz on Truth Social(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Donald Trump has issued a warning over Iran’s nuclear capabilities to Friedrich Merz after the German Chancellor criticised the US President.
Germany’s leader said on Monday that Iran was “humiliating” the US after dragging American envoys out to Pakistan for futile peace talks.
Merz said the Iranians were “obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skilled at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result” while speaking to students in Marsberg.
“An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards. And so I hope that this ends as quickly as possible,” he said. Merz and Trump met at the White House in March.
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The US President has now responded on social media, saying Merz “doesn’t know what he’s talking about” and issuing a warning over Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Trump said 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, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago. No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Merz and Trump met at the White House in March.(Image: Getty Images)
Merz has allowed the US to use the Ramstein air base to coordinate strikes on Iran, but said he could not see how Trump would get out of the conflict.
“If I had known that it would continue like this for five or six weeks and get progressively worse, I would have told him even more emphatically,” Merz said.
This all comes following a leaked memo in which it was suggested the US was looking at ways of punishing NATO allies who have not fully supported the war.