Germany’s Merz expresses doubts that US-Israeli action in Iran will lead to regime change

By Agencies 27 March 2026, 8:42 pm

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German Chancellor and leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merz gives a speech during his CDU's party congress in Stuttgart, southern Germany, February 20, 2026. (Thomas Kienzle / AFP)

Chancellor Friedrich Merz expresses skepticism that the United States and Israel have a clear strategy to end the war in Iran, but he says Germany will in principle be ready to take part in an international stabilization mission after the end of hostilities.

“I’m just not convinced that what’s happening right now – what Israel and America are doing – will actually lead to success,” he says at a conference hosted by the FAZ newspaper.

“Is regime change really the goal?” he says. “If that’s the goal, I don’t think you’ll achieve it. It’s mostly gone wrong” in past conflicts, he said, pointing to the Afghanistan war.