Iran must never possess nuclear weapons: German Chancellor Merz

BERLIN

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that Iran must never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons, as he spoke to Sultan Haitham bin Tariq bin Taimur Al Said of Oman over the phone, his office said.

Merz and Sultan Haitham agreed that the immediate priority is to prevent the escalation of conflict between Israel and Iran.

The two leaders reiterated their readiness to support diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the hostilities.

Merz also expressed gratitude for Oman’s mediation efforts over Iran’s nuclear program.

The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks, scheduled for Sunday in Muscat, was called off after Israel’s attack on Iran.

The German chancellor said the issue will be "right at the top" of the agenda at the G7 summit in Canada, scheduled on June 15-17.

He claimed all diplomatic efforts had failed to stop Iran’s military nuclear program and reiterated Israel’s right to defend itself.

Merz said Israel requested firefighting equipment from Germany and “we will immediately start working on this.”

He stressed that the conflict must not spread, calling on Tehran to halt what he described as attacks on Israeli civilians and warned against the regionalization of the war.

Since early Friday, Israel has launched a series of strikes against Iranian territory, targeting nuclear and missile facilities and killing senior military figures and leading scientists. Oil and gas infrastructure was also targeted.

Iran responded with missiles targeting several areas across Israel.