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Germany's Merz Says Iran is Humiliating US as Talks Stall

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a press conference after taking part in an informal meeting of the European Council in Nicosia on April 24, 2026. (AFP)
Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a press conference after taking part in an informal meeting of the European Council in Nicosia on April 24, 2026. (AFP)
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Germany's Merz Says Iran is Humiliating US as Talks Stall

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a press conference after taking part in an informal meeting of the European Council in Nicosia on April 24, 2026. (AFP)
Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a press conference after taking part in an informal meeting of the European Council in Nicosia on April 24, 2026. (AFP)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday Iran's leadership was humiliating the United States and getting US officials to travel to Pakistan and then leave without results, in an unusually abrupt rebuke over the conflict.

Merz also said he not see what exit strategy the US was pursuing in the Iran war- comments that underlined deep divisions between Washington and its European NATO allies, which had already been festering over Ukraine and other issues.

"The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skilful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result," he said during a talk to students in the town of Marsberg, Reuters reported.

"An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards. And so I hope that this ends as quickly as possible," he added at the venue in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

US President Donald Trump has harshly criticized NATO allies for not sending their navies to help open the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict. The waterway has remained virtually shut, causing market turmoil and unprecedented disruption in energy supplies.

Merz reiterated that Germans and Europeans were not consulted before the US and Israel started attacking Iran on February 28, and that he had conveyed his scepticism directly to Trump afterwards.

"If I had known that it would continue like this for five or six weeks and get progressively worse, I would have told him even more emphatically," Merz said, comparing it to previous US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hopes of reviving peace efforts have receded since Trump scrapped a visit on Saturday by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi travelled to Russia on Monday after failed talks in Pakistan and Oman.

Merz said it was evident the Strait of Hormuz had been at least partially mined. "We have offered, also as Europeans, to send German minesweepers to clear the strait, which has obviously been mined in part," he said.

He said the conflict was costing Germany "a lot of money, a lot of taxpayers' money and a lot of economic strength."

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World

Ukraine Downs 5 Russian Ballistic Missiles as Kyiv Looks to Harden Air Defenses

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Downs 5 Russian Ballistic Missiles as Kyiv Looks to Harden Air Defenses

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)

Ukrainian air defenses intercepted five ballistic missiles launched by Russia in a raft of overnight attacks, Ukraine’s air force said Tuesday, though other missiles and drones got through and hit the capital Kyiv.

It was the first time in almost two weeks that Ukraine claimed to have downed Russian ballistic missiles, which are harder to stop than drones or cruise missiles.

Ukrainian air defenses likely used the US-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile system that is the most effective way of countering ballistic missiles, but ammunition for it has been in short supply amid the Iran war.

In Kyiv, the attack caused fires at two warehouses, while a school was also damaged, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the attack targeted military manufacturing facilities in the Ukrainian capital that produce long-range missiles and drones.

Moscow wants to choke off Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities deep inside Russia that have caused critical fuel shortages, frustrating the public and, Western analysts say, hindering the Russian army’s advance on the front line inside Ukraine.

Ukraine’s air force said one ballistic missile and 25 drones struck 17 locations, while falling debris was reported in 10 locations.

Ukraine urgently needs to improve its air defense shield as another winter looms. Much of the country is at the mercy of Russian missiles that, since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbor, have hammered the power grid.

In an important step forward for Kyiv’s air defense effort, nine other countries joined Ukraine in a coalition announced Monday to build a shared ballistic missile shield for Europe.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its partners could, within the next 12 months, jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system.

Zelenskyy was still in Paris on Tuesday where he attended France’s annual Bastille Day celebrations.

President Donald Trump said at the NATO summit last week that the US will give Ukraine a license to make Patriot systems itself. However, Patriots are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce, so it will be at least a few years before any Ukrainian-made systems are ready to deploy.

Ukraine, meanwhile, kept up its long-range onslaught on Russian targets, especially oil facilities.

In the Krasnodar region in southern Russia, the attack caused a fire at the Afipsky Oil Refinery that was later put out, local authorities said.

Unconfirmed media reports said an oil refinery in the city of Salavat in the Bashkortostan region, some 1,400 kilometers (900 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was also hit by the attack. Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov confirmed an attack on an industrial area in Salavat, but didn’t specify what was hit.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted 288 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, as well as the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula and the Azov and the Black seas.

World

Iran Condemns Britain's Designation of Revolutionary Guards as Security Threat

British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo
British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo
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Iran Condemns Britain's Designation of Revolutionary Guards as Security Threat

British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo
British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo

Iran's foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned Britain's decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a security threat, calling the ‌move "unjustified" and "irresponsible".

The ‌ministry said ‌the ⁠IRGC was an ⁠official part of Iran's armed forces and accused Britain of violating international law by ⁠targeting a ‌state ‌institution, said Reuters.

Britain on Monday ‌banned support for ‌the IRGC and a linked group under new powers aimed ‌at preventing foreign states from using proxies ⁠for ⁠activities such as surveillance and sabotage.

Iran, which is at war with the United States and Israel, has previously denied using proxies.

World

India Protests to Iran Over Killing of Seafarer in Hormuz

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 12, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 12, 2026. (Reuters)
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India Protests to Iran Over Killing of Seafarer in Hormuz

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 12, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 12, 2026. (Reuters)

The Indian foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it had lodged a strong protest with Iran after summoning its deputy ambassador over the killing of an Indian seafarer in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Indian national was among 46 crew members, including 30 Indians, on board two vessels – ‌MT Al ‌Bahiyah and MT Mombasa – that ‌were ⁠attacked while transiting ⁠the shipping lane, the ministry said.

Ten other Indian seafarers were wounded, of whom two are reported to be seriously injured, it said in a statement.

India is "deeply concerned" by the ⁠attacks, and the targeting of commercial ‌shipping and civilian ‌infrastructure in the region "must cease," it said.

US ‌President Donald Trump has reinstated a ‌blockade on Iranian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz this month and proposed charging a 20% fee to guard it.

Tehran says ‌the US has no role in determining the future of the ⁠waterway, ⁠which handled about a fifth of global oil and gas supplies before the conflict erupted on February 28.

Another Indian national has been missing after an attack on container ship GFS Galaxy in the strait on Sunday.

Iran said it had targeted the vessel after it tried to transit through an unauthorized route despite warnings.