Merz told Trump that Germany and the US shared a desire to get rid of Iran’s current regime, and said Berlin wanted to see a rapid end to the war.
He later cast doubt on whether the US and Israeli military strikes would spark political change in Iran, saying the plan posed some risks.
“This plan is not without risk, and we would also have to bear the consequences,” Merz told reporters after meeting Trump.
The war in Iran is politically sensitive for Merz, who faces potential backlash at home over Germany‘s support for the US-Israeli operation.
On Sunday, he had expressed no criticism of the US airstrikes but stopped short of endorsing an operation which Trump’s critics have said was undertaken without sufficient explanation and the required legal backing in international law.
Neither Israel nor the US have asked Germany to get directly involved in the conflict, Merz said, adding he had explained to Trump that any such action would require formal German parliamentary approval.
“We are on the same page in terms of getting this terrible regime in Iran away, and we will talk about the day after,” Merz said at the start of the talks, adding that he would also raise Russia’s war in Ukraine and the need to finalise a US-European Union trade deal following Trump’s additional tariff threats.
Trump said the US was not asking Germany to provide troops. “They’re letting us land in certain areas, and we appreciate it, and they’re just making it comfortable. We’re not asking them to put boots on the ground.”
