U.S. is 'being humiliated by Iran,' says Germany's Merz, as Europe's patience wanes

german chancellor friedrich merz said the u.s. is being "humiliated" by iran's leadership, specifically the revolutionary guards. he made the comments monday to students in marsberg, criticizing iran's skill at stalling negotiations — letting american envoys travel to islamabad and leave without results. merz's frustration partly reflects how the iran conflict is hurting his efforts to revive germany's economy. european leaders, already dealing with the ukraine war, see the iran operation as a war of choice they weren't consulted on. they worry the u.s. has underestimated the iranian regime's resilience and fear another "forever war" in the middle east. the war has hit europe's energy costs hard. eu commission chief ursula von der leyen said friday the bloc has paid 25 billion euros ($29.2 billion) more for oil and gas imports since the war started. trump cancelled a weekend trip to islamabad for more talks, telling fox news "we have all the cards." iran proposed reopening the strait of hormuz if the u.s. lifts its port blockade and the war ends — postponing nuclear negotiations. trump wasn't happy with the offer, and the white house is expected to counter in coming days.