U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the ongoing military campaign against Iran during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House, expressing confidence in U.S.-Israeli military superiority while acknowledging concerns about potential regime change leading to unfavorable leadership.
Key Takeaways
U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the ongoing military campaign against Iran during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House. Trump expressed confidence in U.S.-Israeli military superiority but acknowledged concerns about potential regime change leading to unfavorable leadership. He also threatened trade sanctions against Spain for refusing to allow U.S. strikes from its bases and criticized other European nations' responses to the conflict.
Trump stated that his biggest fear was that regime change could bring in leadership "as bad as the previous person." He urged caution for Iranian protests due to the country's massive state security apparatus. Trump also asserted that Iran was going to attack first, contradicting earlier comments by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Turning to Europe's disparate reactions, Trump threatened to cut off all trade with Spain after it refused Washington permission to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain for U.S. strikes on Iran. He criticized Spain for not increasing its defense spending to 5% of GDP and attacked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for not joining the U.S.-Israeli attack but allowing U.S. forces to use UK bases.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has maintained a good rapport with Trump despite tariff policies, underlined common ground with Trump on removing Iran's regime and discussed Ukraine's security as Europe's priority.
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