U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized NATO allies for not sending naval support to help open the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. President Donald Trump has again criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over Iran, telling Merz to stop interfering in the Middle East conflict and focus on domestic issues.
Trump said in an April 30 Truth Social post that Merz should "spend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine" and on "fixing his broken Country, especially Immigration and Energy, and less time on interfering with those that are getting rid of the Iran Nuclear threat, thereby making the World, including Germany, a safer place!"
Germany is one of several European countries that has been giving Ukraine military aid.
Berlin and Kyiv recently upgraded their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership, with the new framework committing Germany and Ukraine to closer political, security, and economic ties.
The U.S. president made the remarks following a series of comments between the two G7 leaders over the Iran war.
Trump in an April 28 Truth Social post strongly disputed Merz's statement made the day before in which he said that the United States had been “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership over attempts to hold peace talks to end the two-month U.S.–Iran war.
Merz then on April 29 said that his personal relationship with Trump "remains good,” adding in comments to reporters that he “simply had doubts from the start about what was begun with the war in Iran.”
Trump has criticized NATO allies for not sending naval support to help open the Strait of Hormuz, saying earlier this month that the defense alliance could face a “very serious examining” as a result.
Since then, the U.S. Department of War said that it was working closely with European allies to get NATO members to step up with their defense strategies and responsibilities, with Berlin taking a leading role.
