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Friedrich Merz

Tino Chrupalla, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party speaks at a campaign rally in front of the Berlin City Hall on June 29, 2026. (Tobias Schwarz/AFP)
July 3, 2026, 12:52 pm
Far-right Alternative for Germany buoyant as it eyes slice of power in regional elections
Anti-migration nationalist party upbeat ahead of weekend summit despite expected protests, as it looks to take state government in Saxony-Anhalt in September vote
By Geir Moulson
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Miami International Airport, in Miami, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
May 3, 2026, 9:22 am
Trump says US to withdraw significantly more than 5,000 troops from Germany
‘We’re going to cut way down,’ US president says, amid rift with NATO over Iran war; troop pullout plan faces bipartisan resistance
By Kirsten Grieshaber, Emma Burrows and AAMER MADHANI
US President Donald Trump meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on March 3, 2026. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)
May 2, 2026, 4:25 pm
NATO seeks clarity as US to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany amid rift with Europe
Trump says he is considering pulling US troops from Italy and Spain as well, due to their opposition to the war against Iran; NATO says it shows Europe’s need to invest in defense
By W.G. Dunlop
US Vice President JD Vance visits with service members during a refueling stop at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, April 24, 2025. (Kenny Holston/Pool Photo via AP)
May 2, 2026, 3:28 am
US pulling 5,000 troops from Germany amid spat with Trump over Iran war
Senior Pentagon official says German rhetoric against Washington’s policy ‘inappropriate and unhelpful’; withdrawal to be completed within 6-12 months
By Reuters
US President Donald Trump, right, greets Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz during summit to support ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, October 13, 2025, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)
April 29, 2026, 5:35 am
Trump fires back at Merz after German leader says Iran ‘humiliating’ US over talks
US president accuses German chancellor, who said ‘Iranians are obviously… very skillful at not negotiating,’ of ‘thinking it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon’
By Agencies
US President Donald Trump arrives at the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House after a shooting at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
April 26, 2026, 1:21 pm
Netanyahu, Herzog among world leaders ‘shocked’ by shooting at gala attended by Trump
PM condemns ‘attempted assassination’; leaders slam political violence, send well-wishes to US officials and other attendees at White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner
By ToI Staff and Agencies
L-R: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference ahead of final votes on the 2026 state budget at the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 29, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90); Israel's Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor addresses the Conference of Minister-Presidents, March 12, 2025 (Media Service Saxony); German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks to the media at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
April 14, 2026, 1:52 pm
Israel’s ambassador to Germany assails Smotrich for attack on chancellor
In rare rebuke for a diplomat, Ron Prosor slams far-right minister for saying ‘you will not force us into ghettos again’ after Merz criticized Israel on Holocaust memorial day
By ToI Staff
An Iranian woman wrapped in the national flag performs noon prayers as people gather in Tehran's Revolution Square after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, on April 8, 2026. (ATTA KENARE / AFP) /
April 8, 2026, 3:24 pm
World leaders hail Iran truce as stocks rally, oil prices tumble
Two-week truce and reopening of Hormuz are welcomed by both Iran’s allies and Gulf states targeted by Tehran; France, Spain push for ceasefire to also include Israel’s fight with Hezbollah
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, right, and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visit the site of a deadly Iranian missile impact days earlier in Beit Shemesh, March 10, 2026. (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO)
March 10, 2026, 8:57 pm
Alongside visiting German FM, Sa’ar says Israel not seeking ‘endless war’ in Iran
Wadephul says Iran ‘not ready’ for diplomatic end to war; Sa’ar warns newly selected Iranian leader Mojtaba Khamenei ‘no less extremist’ than his father
By Nava Freiberg
Smoke and fire rise from the site of airstrikes at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran on March 7, 2026.(ATTA KENARE / AFP)
March 7, 2026, 12:50 pm
Israel pounds Iran missile sites, airport as Tehran fires back repeated salvos, threatens Europe
More than 80 jets drop 230 bombs on Iranian targets as Tehran fires additional missiles at Israel, expands attacks across the Gulf and warns Europe nations against joining war
By Emanuel Fabian and AFP
FILE: Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, attends the annual Quds, or Jerusalem Day rally in Tehran, Iran, on May 31, 2019. (AP/Vahid Salemi)
March 4, 2026, 5:24 am
Khamenei’s son emerges as frontrunner to succeed him; Trump spurns Pahlavi as post-regime leader
Clerics said wary of naming Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader, fearing he’ll more likely be targeted by US and Israel; US president says ‘most of the people we had in mind’ to lead Iranian government are dead already
By AP, Jacob Magid and ToI Staff
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office at the White House, March 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
March 3, 2026, 10:39 pm
Trump says he may have forced Israel’s hand into war with Iranian ‘lunatics’
US president says Iran was ‘going to attack first,’ most people he’d considered as potential future leaders of Iran ‘are dead’; said to have spoken with Netanyahu 15 times in run-up to war
By Jacob Magid
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)
February 20, 2026, 11:11 pm
Germany’s Merz vows to keep out far-right as he warns of a changed world
At Christian Democrat party conference ahead of series of state elections, chancellor vows to not let AfD ‘ruin’ Germany
By Reuters
Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz prepares to address the audience during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
February 14, 2026, 8:18 am
Merz calls to repair Europe’s rift with US, saying old world order ‘no longer exists’
Speaking at Munich Security Conference, German leader says he has begun talks with France on a European nuclear deterrent; Macron: ‘Europe has to become a geopolitical power’
By Agencies
President of the German Bundestag Julia Kloeckner meets with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (not pictured) during a welcome ceremony at the Knesset in Jerusalem, February 11, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
February 12, 2026, 5:09 pm
German court again rejects suit over arms exports to Israel, as lawmaker visits Gaza
Palestinian sought to sue Berlin over weapons sales to Jerusalem; speaker of Berlin’s lower parliament visits IDF-controlled part of Gaza, calls for truce line not to become new border
By AFP
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