German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday predicted the imminent downfall of Iran’s regime, saying it was in its “final days.”
“When a regime can only hold on to power through violence, it is effectively finished,” Merz told reporters in India, where he was on a two-day visit. “I believe that we are now witnessing the final days and weeks of this regime.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned Merz’s “double standards,” telling Berlin to “have some shame” and urging it to end its “illegal interference” in the region. Araghachi noted Germany’s support of Israel during the war against Hamas, the Bloomberg news agency reported.
On Monday, President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on goods from countries that are “doing business” with Iran.
Trump has said the Islamic Republic is weakening and should make a deal with the United States to ease sanctions in exchange for dismantling Tehran’s nuclear program.
Merz has said that Israel was “doing the world’s dirty work” during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.
Iran has experienced roughly two weeks of nationwide protests, sparked by a market strike in the bazaar of Tehran. The unrest, in which opposition figures say at least hundreds have died, marks one of the biggest internal challenges to the Islamic Republic since its establishment with the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
The demonstrations have drawn hundreds of thousands of people by some accounts, Bloomberg reported, and authorities have struggled to quell them.
“The population is now rising up against this regime,” Merz said in India. He added that foreign ministers from around the world are in close contact to ensure that a transition to a “democratically legitimate government can take place in Iran.”
