Friedrich Merz said concerns about a further escalation with Iran have dominated his trip to the Gulf region.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned of the threat of a military escalation in the Middle East before talks between Iran and the United States in Oman on Friday.Speaking in Doha on Thursday, Merz said that fears of a new conflict had characterised his talks during his trip to the Gulf region.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“In all my conversations yesterday and today, great concern has been expressed about a further escalation in the conflict with Iran,” he said during a news conference.Merz also urged Iran to end what he called aggression and enter into talks, saying Germany would do everything it could to de-escalate the situation and work towards regional stability.The warning came in the run-up to a crucial scheduled meeting between officials from Tehran and Washington in Muscat.Mediators from Qatar, Turkiye and Egypt have presented Iran and the US with a framework of key principles to be discussed in the talks, including a commitment by Iran to significantly limit its uranium enrichment, two sources familiar with the negotiations have told Al Jazeera.Before the talks, both sides appear to be struggling to find common ground on a number of issues, including what topics will be up for discussion.Iran says the talks must be confined to its long-running nuclear dispute with Western powers, rejecting a US demand to also discuss Tehran’s ballistic missiles, and warning that pushing issues beyond the nuclear programme could jeopardise the talks.Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said the US is eager for the talks to …
