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"German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned recent attacks in the United Arab Emirates and urged Iran to engage in negotiations during a joint press conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro in Berlin on Tuesday. "Our joint message is that Iran must come to the negotiating table. It must stop playing for time. It must no longer hold the region and the entire world hostage," Merz said. "The military nuclear programme must be terminated definitively and forever. And there must be no further attacks against Israel and our partners in the region. The recent attacks against civilian infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates were condemned in the strongest terms last night," he continued. Echoing these statements, the Portuguese PM labelled Iran's pursuit of military nuclear potential "unacceptable" and condemned the disruption of navigability in the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that the "diplomatic and negotiation route must be absolutely respected" to resolve the crisis. The joint press conference follows a large fire that broke out in Fujairah on Monday, a key UAE oil port, after it was hit by a drone attack allegedly carried out by Iran, a claim that Iran denied. The strike, which injured three Indian nationals, followed the interception of three Iranian missiles by the UAE military and marked a collapse of the Pakistani-mediated ceasefire. Merz confirmed that the first German ship is already on its way to the Eastern Mediterranean, where it will be pre-deployed. However, he acknowledged that Berlin had advocated before the European Council to increase sanctions pressure on Tehran if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, especially following IRGC claims of expanded control over regional ports. On US-Europe relations, the chancellor stated, "In these turbulent times, Germany is therefore following a clear transatlantic compass. We are fulfilling the agreements of the Hague Summit quickly and decisively. We do this not only in our own interest, but in the common interest and also from deepest conviction." The Chancellor’s words come as his administration faces significant domestic pressure, with recent polling indicating widespread public scepticism about his handling of the current energy shock. On Friday, the US confirmed the pullout of 5,000 troops from Germany following President Donald Trump's latest row with Merz. The fallout follows Chancellor Merz's claim last week that Trump had been "humiliated" by Iranian negotiators, prompting Trump to hit back by labelling Merz "terrible" on immigration, energy, and Ukraine. Trump further accused the Chancellor of trying to "interfere" in Iran after Merz criticised Washington's lack of a clear "strategic exit" from the conflict, to which Trump responded that Merz did not know "what he's talking about." The move was compounded by Washington’s decision to scrap the planned deployment of long-range Tomahawk missiles, a central pillar of Berlin’s security strategy. Merz and Montenegro met on the sidelines of the Wirtschaftstag Conference, an annual economic forum focused on strengthening European trade and industry."
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