The Chancellor continued that he spoke to Trump on the phone on Sunday and also spoke to the US President about the situation in the Middle East. “I told him my concerns about the announced attacks on the power plants in Iran.”
Trump made a U-turn on Monday a few hours before his ultimatum on the Strait of Hormuz expired. After what he described as “very good and constructive” talks with Tehran, he postponed the attack plans. However, Iranian media denied that there were any talks with the USA.
On Saturday, Trump threatened to attack Iranian power plants if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic by Tuesday at 1:44 a.m. CET. The Iranian military responded to Trump’s ultimatum by threatening a long-term blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Merz said about the conflict at the press conference in Berlin that he had offered Trump in the phone call “that we would help in every way” to establish contact. “We have good contacts throughout the entire region.” He also offered “that we work together and do everything we can to reach a ceasefire in the region as quickly as possible.” That is difficult at the moment and not possible without Israel’s consent. However, there is also “a lot of hope.”
