Trump Hosts Merz Amid US-Israel Iran Strikes

President Donald Trump hosted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House on Tuesday for talks overshadowed by the ongoing United States-Israel military campaign against Iran. The televised Oval Office meeting, Merz's third with Trump in the past year, featured pointed criticism from the American leader toward European allies, particularly Spain, while the two discussed strategies to end the conflict and address its global fallout.

The conflict, which escalated last weekend with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear and missile programs, has disrupted key oil shipping lanes in the Middle East and driven global energy prices to their highest levels since 2024. Tehran has retaliated with attacks on U.S. bases and regional allies, complicating international responses. Merz, arriving from a recent trip to China, expressed support for shared objectives in curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions and regime oppression but avoided critiquing the legality of the strikes. "We recognize the dilemma," Merz told reporters beforehand. "Repeated attempts over past decades had not put Iran off trying to acquire nuclear weapons or oppressing its own people. So we're not going to...