US, Israel Unlikely to Achieve ‘Regime Change’ in Iran, Says Merz

 27 March 2026, Hesse, Frankfurt/Main: Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks at the "FAZ" Congress. (dpa)
27 March 2026, Hesse, Frankfurt/Main: Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks at the "FAZ" Congress. (dpa)
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US, Israel Unlikely to Achieve ‘Regime Change’ in Iran, Says Merz

 27 March 2026, Hesse, Frankfurt/Main: Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks at the "FAZ" Congress. (dpa)
27 March 2026, Hesse, Frankfurt/Main: Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks at the "FAZ" Congress. (dpa)

The US-Israeli war against Iran is unlikely to lead to "regime change", German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday, as the month-long conflict showed no signs of abating.

"Is regime change really the goal?" he said at a forum in Frankfurt organized by the FAZ newspaper.

"If that's the goal, I don't think you'll achieve it. It's mostly gone wrong" in past conflicts, he said, pointing to the Afghanistan war.

"I have serious doubts as to whether there is a strategy and whether that strategy is being successfully implemented," he added. "In that respect, it could take even longer."

Germany has pushed back at US President Donald Trump's criticisms of NATO members for failing to join the attacks on Iran, insisting that it is not their war.

Merz however said Friday he believed that Trump had accepted this stance.

He also said Germany would be open to helping provide military protection in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil and gas, which has been nearly totally blocked, in the event of a ceasefire.

"This requires an international mandate, it requires approval from the German parliament and, prior to that, a cabinet decision. And we are far from that."



Kremlin Says Preparations for Putin Visit to China are in Final Stages

FILED - 26 July 2023, Russia, Saint Petersburg: FILE PHOTO - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting at the Konstantinovsky Palace. Photo: Vladimir Smirnov/KREMLIN/dpa
FILED - 26 July 2023, Russia, Saint Petersburg: FILE PHOTO - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting at the Konstantinovsky Palace. Photo: Vladimir Smirnov/KREMLIN/dpa
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Kremlin Says Preparations for Putin Visit to China are in Final Stages

FILED - 26 July 2023, Russia, Saint Petersburg: FILE PHOTO - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting at the Konstantinovsky Palace. Photo: Vladimir Smirnov/KREMLIN/dpa
FILED - 26 July 2023, Russia, Saint Petersburg: FILE PHOTO - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting at the Konstantinovsky Palace. Photo: Vladimir Smirnov/KREMLIN/dpa

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that preparations ‌were ‌in the ‌final ⁠stages for a visit ⁠by President Vladimir Putin ⁠to ‌China.

Kremlin spokesman ‌Dmitry Peskov ‌said ‌the timing of the ‌visit would be announced ⁠in due ⁠course.

Relations between Russia and China have deepened significantly in recent years, with the two countries expanding cooperation in trade, energy, defense, and diplomacy while presenting their partnership as a counterbalance to Western influence.


Iran Chief Negotiator Says US Must Accept Proposal or Face ‘Failure’

A person rides a motorcycle over a US flag painted on a street, in Tehran, Iran, May 12, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A person rides a motorcycle over a US flag painted on a street, in Tehran, Iran, May 12, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Iran Chief Negotiator Says US Must Accept Proposal or Face ‘Failure’

A person rides a motorcycle over a US flag painted on a street, in Tehran, Iran, May 12, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A person rides a motorcycle over a US flag painted on a street, in Tehran, Iran, May 12, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran's chief negotiator on Tuesday issued an ultimatum to the United States to accept the conditions in Tehran's 14-point proposal for peace in the Middle East war or face "failure".

The defiant message came after US President Donald Trump rejected the latest counteroffer from Iran and said that a fragile ceasefire in place since April 8 was on "life support".

But Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Washington had to accept Tehran's "rights" if it wanted to end more than two months of conflict, as peace talks remain deadlocked after an initial round failed to produce a breakthrough last month.

"There is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as laid out in the 14-point proposal. Any other approach will be completely inconclusive; nothing but one failure after another," said Ghalibaf in a post on X.

"The longer they drag their feet, the more American taxpayers will pay for it."

Iran has refused to back down in its war with Washington, with military officials warning they are prepared to respond to any renewed US attack.

It has choked traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz trade route, rattling global markets and giving it vital leverage, while the US has imposed its own naval blockade on Iranian ports.

Details of the latest US proposal remain limited, though media reports say it involves a one-page memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the fighting and establishing a framework for negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.

Iran's foreign ministry said its response called for ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, halting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and securing the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad under longstanding sanctions.

It did not elaborate on what Iran would offer in return.

On Tuesday, the spokesman for Iran's parliamentary national security commission said lawmakers would consider the possibility of enriching uranium to weapons-grade levels if conflict resumed.

"One of Iran's options in the event of another attack could be 90 percent enrichment. We will examine it in parliament," Ebrahim Rezaei wrote in a post on X.

Tehran possesses a significant stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity, with roughly 90 percent required for a nuclear weapon.

Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium remains a key sticking point in negotiations with the United States, which insists the material must be transferred out of the country.

Iran has so far refused to move its enriched uranium stockpile abroad and insists on its right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, though it has said the level of enrichment remains "negotiable".


UK’s Starmer Defies Calls to Quit, Says He Is Getting on with Governing

 11 May 2026, United Kingdom, London: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer giving a speech at the Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre in Waterloo, London, as he sets out the next steps he is taking in his plan to build a stronger, fairer Britain. (James Manning/PA Wire/dpa)
11 May 2026, United Kingdom, London: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer giving a speech at the Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre in Waterloo, London, as he sets out the next steps he is taking in his plan to build a stronger, fairer Britain. (James Manning/PA Wire/dpa)
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UK’s Starmer Defies Calls to Quit, Says He Is Getting on with Governing

 11 May 2026, United Kingdom, London: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer giving a speech at the Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre in Waterloo, London, as he sets out the next steps he is taking in his plan to build a stronger, fairer Britain. (James Manning/PA Wire/dpa)
11 May 2026, United Kingdom, London: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer giving a speech at the Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre in Waterloo, London, as he sets out the next steps he is taking in his plan to build a stronger, fairer Britain. (James Manning/PA Wire/dpa)

Prime Minister Keir Starmer defied calls to resign on Tuesday, telling ministers he would "get on with governing" despite a "destabilizing" 48 hours of growing calls to set out a timetable for his departure after an election drubbing.

At a meeting of his cabinet team of ministers, ‌Starmer, in the top ‌job for less than two years, ‌repeated ⁠that while he ⁠took responsibility for one of his Labour Party's worst election defeats, there had been no official move to trigger a leadership contest.

"The past 48 hours have been destabilizing for government and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families," Starmer told ministers, according to his Downing Street office.

"The ⁠country expects us to get on with ‌governing. That is what I ‌am doing and what we must do as a Cabinet."

British government ‌bonds rallied weakly on Starmer's comments, but remained firmly ‌in the red for the day.

His defiance was in marked contrast to the feelings of many in his Labour Party.

On Tuesday, a junior minister resigned after a handful of ministerial aides also ‌left the government. More than 80 Labour lawmakers have publicly called for him to set ⁠a resignation ⁠date so the party could install a new leader in an orderly manner.

Starmer had sought to shore up his position on Monday when he promised to act more boldly and with more urgency to tackle Britain's many problems.

He had said the country would never forgive the center-left Labour Party if it embarked on a leadership challenge, just two years after its huge parliamentary majority was supposed to bring an end to the political chaos that had gripped the country since Britain voted to leave the European Union 10 years ago.