Trump criticizes Merz over Germany's stance on Iran war

US President Donald Trump on Friday criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for the lack of help in securing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking at a conference in Miami in the US state of Florida, Trump first attacked the NATO allies France and the United Kingdom before turning to Germany.

"Friedrich, the chancellor of Germany, he said, 'This is not our war'," Trump said, adding that "Ukraine is not our war, but we help them."

The rhetoric between Washington and Berlin has become more heated in recent days.

On Thursday, Trump said he found it "inappropriate" that German officials had said the conflict was "not our war."

However, he did not name anyone directly at the time but attributed the remarks to "the head of Germany."

The remark originally came from Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.

Merz said earlier this month during a visit to Norway: "Germany is not part of this war, and we do not want to become part of it."

The US president had asked NATO allies for help in providing military security for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively blocked due to the Iran war. The strait is important for the global oil trade.

Because NATO partners did not comply with the request, Trump has repeatedly criticized them.

Merz attacks Trump for 'massive escalation'

Earlier on Friday, Merz sharply attacked Trump for his conduct in the Iran war, saying Trump's actions amounted to a "massive escalation" rather than an attempt to end the fighting.

Speaking at a conference organized by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily, Merz said: "What Trump is doing right now is not de-escalation and an attempt to find a peaceful solution, but a massive escalation with an uncertain outcome."

Merz said he doubted that a change of the leadership in Iran could be achieved.

"Is regime change really the goal?" he asked. "If that is the goal, I don't think they will achieve it. That has mostly gone wrong in the past."