Friedrich Merz urges the Islamic Republic to reopen the Strait of Hormuz unconditionally

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in a telephone call on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, strongly condemned the attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Islamic Republic-backed Houthis and called on Tehran to end its destabilisation of the region and to open the Strait of Hormuz permanently and without restrictions.

According to Steffen Kornelius, the German government spokesman, Merz called the attacks terrorist and said the Islamic Republic's naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthis' in the Bab al-Mandab Strait must end immediately. He also urged the Islamic Republic finally to enter serious negotiations and to halt its military nuclear programme.

Berlin and Riyadh agree the Houthi attacks must stop

According to the German government spokesman, the two sides agreed that the Houthi attacks must stop immediately, and discussed developments in the Middle East, ways to end the region's conflicts, the impact of the crisis on energy prices in Germany and ways to contain it.

The call came days after Houthi attacks on the airports in Riyadh and Dammam left at least 14 dead and the Saudi-led coalition ordered the evacuation of oil facilities ahead of an operation in Sanaa.

Europe's growing pressure on the Islamic Republic

The German chancellor's stance was announced a day after the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Britain, the United States and dozens of other countries, in a joint statement, accused the Islamic Republic of involvement in deadly plots, sabotage, arson and cyber attacks, and endorsed Britain's assessment of the IRGC's role in the plot at the Fairford base. The Islamic Republic has rejected the accusations.

The German magazine WirtschaftsWoche had also reported on 8 October that the Islamic Republic's intelligence apparatus had been monitoring US military bases in Germany, including Ramstein and Spangdahlem.

The German chancellor called on the Islamic Republic to reopen the Strait of Hormuz unconditionally and halt its military nuclear programme.