Berlin would have advised against course of action in Iran, Merz says

Germany would have advised the United States against its course of action in Iran had it been consulted beforehand, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday.

Berlin continues to have "many questions" regarding the strategy behind the campaign launched by the US and Israel on February 28, Merz told the lower house of parliament, or Bundestag, in Berlin.

"To this day, there is no convincing plan as to how this operation might succeed," he said.

"Washington did not consult us and did not deem European assistance necessary," said Merz, who has sharpened his rhetoric in recent days after initially failing to condemn the US-Israeli attacks which came during ongoing negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we would have advised against taking this course of action in the way it has been taken," he told lawmakers in a government statement ahead of an EU summit on Thursday.

Merz also reiterated his refusal to send German warships to the Strait of Hormuz, after Trump called on NATO allies to help protect commercial shipping in the narrow waterway from Iranian attacks, which have sent global oil prices soaring.