The U.S. is being “humiliated” by the Iranian regime, Germany’s chancellor has said, as disquiet among European leaders over a prolonged conflict in the Middle East gradually intensifies.

“The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday.

But maybe some swell souvenirs, instead?


“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,” Merz added, speaking to students in Marsberg in Germany.

snip

Leaders are also worried that the U.S. has underestimated the resilience of the Iranian regime, which is underpinned by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and fear the war could turn into another so-called “forever war” in the Middle East.