German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on the 9th of April that he did not want NATO to split over the Iran war, but dismissed the possibility that US President Donald Trump might actually decide to withdraw from the alliance, Reuters reports.
Speaking to reporters, Merz said that Germany, in cooperation with Washington and European allies, was resuming talks with Iran to end the war that has already killed thousands and caused an international energy crisis that also affects Germany.
The war in Iran has added to tensions within NATO, which is already reeling from the war in Ukraine and other issues, including Trump’s comments about taking over Greenland. The US president has repeatedly called the alliance a “paper tiger” and threatened to withdraw from it. Two European diplomats told Reuters on the 9th of April that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had spoken to several capitals and said Trump wanted concrete confirmation in the next few days of his readiness to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.
In Berlin, Merz said the Germans did not want, and he did not want, a divided NATO: ” NATO is a guarantor of our security, including and above all in Europe.”
The German chancellor said he had told Trump in a phone call that
Germany was ready to help in the Strait of Hormuz once a long-term ceasefire was agreed.
However, Germany would need both an international mandate, ideally from the UN Security Council, and parliamentary approval. Merz added that Trump was well aware of this, and that no concrete decisions were expected from the Germans in the coming days. Germany would resume talks with Tehran after a long hiatus.
Merz and Trump did not discuss the possibility of US troops leaving Germany, nor did they discuss potential restrictions on the use of military bases. US military bases have been located in Germany since the end of World War II.
Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s entire civilization if it did not open the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week, drawing criticism, including from allies in Europe. Merz stressed that he was confident it would not have come to that. The threat was part of a strategy that had at least temporarily halted hostilities.
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