Iran Warns US of Opening ‘New Fronts’

A photo released by the Iranian army shows missile launches during annual military maneuvers in the Isfahan province, central Iran, on Saturday (AFP)
A photo released by the Iranian army shows missile launches during annual military maneuvers in the Isfahan province, central Iran, on Saturday (AFP)
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Iran Warns US of Opening ‘New Fronts’

A photo released by the Iranian army shows missile launches during annual military maneuvers in the Isfahan province, central Iran, on Saturday (AFP)
A photo released by the Iranian army shows missile launches during annual military maneuvers in the Isfahan province, central Iran, on Saturday (AFP)

Iran has issued more warnings to the US as conflict escalates in Gaza, amid concerns that Tehran may become directly embroiled in a military confrontation with Washington.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned that new fronts will be opened against the US if it continues to support Israel in its war on Hamas in Gaza.

Abdollahian further cautioned that the Israeli ground operation in Gaza would have “dire consequences” for Israel, urging the US to decide whether they truly want to escalate the war.

The top diplomat did not provide specific details regarding the “consequences” Iran might take in the future, denying Tehran had ordered its affiliated groups in Syria and Iraq to target US forces in recent days.

Speaking with Bloomberg on Friday, he stated that the groups act independently and have not received any orders from Tehran.

“Opening of new fronts will be unavoidable and that will put Israel in a new situation that will make it regret its actions,” said Abdollahian.

“This has reached the point of explosion. Anything is possible and any front can be opened up,” he added.

“We have not deployed any new forces, either in Syria or in other parts of the region, but we have not merely been spectators of what is happening,” reminded Abdollahian.

“In accordance with our national interests, Iran will take necessary actions,” he stressed.

Moreover, he recommended that Hamas release the civilian prisoners it is holding. The group has so far released four.

The state-run ISNA agency cited Abdollahian as stating to journalists in New York that the absence of a workable political solution in the near future could potentially lead to unpredictable developments.

He met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, emphasizing that “efforts are focused on how to reach political solutions.”



Germany's Merz Heads for Delicate Talks with Trump

Friedrich Merz, left, wants to maintain good ties with what he has called Germany's 'indispensable' ally, despite Donald Trump's disruptive 'America First' policies. Ludovic MARIN, SAUL LOEB / POOL/AFP/File
Friedrich Merz, left, wants to maintain good ties with what he has called Germany's 'indispensable' ally, despite Donald Trump's disruptive 'America First' policies. Ludovic MARIN, SAUL LOEB / POOL/AFP/File
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Germany's Merz Heads for Delicate Talks with Trump

Friedrich Merz, left, wants to maintain good ties with what he has called Germany's 'indispensable' ally, despite Donald Trump's disruptive 'America First' policies. Ludovic MARIN, SAUL LOEB / POOL/AFP/File
Friedrich Merz, left, wants to maintain good ties with what he has called Germany's 'indispensable' ally, despite Donald Trump's disruptive 'America First' policies. Ludovic MARIN, SAUL LOEB / POOL/AFP/File

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, hoping to build a personal relationship despite discord over Ukraine and the threat of a trade war.

A month into his job, the conservative Merz, 69, is a staunch transatlanticist at pains to maintain good ties with what he considers post-war Germany's "indispensable" ally, despite Trump's unyielding "America First" stance, said AFP.

Merz will hope that his pledges to sharply increase Germany's NATO defense spending will please Trump, and that he can find common ground on confronting Russia after the mercurial US president voiced growing frustration with President Vladimir Putin.

On Trump's threat to hammer the European Union with sharply higher tariffs, Merz, leader of the bloc's biggest economy, has argued that it must be self-confident in its negotiations with Washington, saying that "we're not supplicants".

Despite the tensions, Merz said he was "looking forward" to his first face-to-face meeting with Trump.

"Our alliance with America was, is, and remains of paramount importance for the security, freedom, and prosperity of Europe," he posted on X late Wednesday.

His office has also voiced confidence that Merz will be spared the kind of public dressing down Trump delivered in the Oval Office to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa.

Merz is looking ahead to his first in-person meeting with Trump "with great calmness and joy", his spokesman Stefan Kornelius said, pointing to their "very good relationship" so far.

"Germany is the third-largest economy in the world, and we have a lot to offer as an economic partner of the USA," Kornelius said.

"At the same time, a very constructive and positive relationship with America is very important to us, for our own economy and for the security of Germany and Europe."

The two leaders -- both with business backgrounds and keen golf players -- are on first-name terms after several phone calls, Kornelius said, and Merz now has Trump's cellphone number on speed dial.

Defense and trade

Merz has been given the honor of staying at Blair House, the presidential guest residence on Pennsylvania Avenue across from the White House.

Merz has even felt comfortable enough to have a little fun at Trump's expense, recently telling a TV interviewer that his every second or third word was "great".

Whatever the personal chemistry, the policy issues are potentially explosive.

Trump launched his roller-coaster series of trade policy shifts in April, with the threat of 50-percent US tariffs on European goods looming.

Merz, who has sat on many corporate boards, is "very experienced in business, too -- the world from which Donald Trump comes," his chancellery chief of staff, Thorsten Frei, told the Funke media group.

On the Ukraine war, where Germany strongly backs Kyiv, Merz will hope to convince Trump to heighten pressure on Putin through new sanctions to persuade him to agree to a ceasefire.

Trump, 78, has recently expressed frustration with Putin, calling him "crazy", but without announcing concrete new measures.

Merz's visit comes ahead of a G7 summit in Canada on June 15-17 and a NATO meeting in The Hague at the end of the month.

Merz has said Germany is willing to follow a plan to raise defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP over coming years, with another 1.5 percent dedicated to security-related infrastructure.

'Calm and reasonable'

Another potential flashpoint issue looms -- the vocal support Trump and some in his administration have given to the far-right and anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which came second in February elections.

US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Trump adviser Elon Musk have all weighed in in support of the AfD, which in Germany is shunned by all other political parties.

When Germany's domestic intelligence service recently designated the AfD a "right-wing extremist" group, Rubio denounced the step as "tyranny in disguise".

Merz slammed what he labelled "absurd observations" from Washington and said he "would like to encourage the American government... to largely stay out of" German domestic politics.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has also openly criticized Trump, saying this week that he frequently made statements "that seem directed against the fundamental foundations of our coexistence".