Likely German chancellor Merz set to take tougher line on Iran

Germany's likely next Chancellor Friedrich Merz is likely to promulgate a tougher stance on Iran by Europe's top economy after inviting Tehran's arch-enemy Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu to Berlin and previous pointed statements.

After his conservative bloc won the most votes of any party in elections on Sunday, Merz hopes to quickly form a government with reluctant social democrats.

Should he emerge as Germany's leader, the top European economy and trading partner with the largely sanctioned and shunned Islamic Republic could be set to take a stronger tack against Tehran.

Merz told Israel's Netanyahu in a phone conversation following his strong showing at polls that he would invite him to Germany despite of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC), Netanyahu's office said on Monday.

The previous coalition government led by social democrat Olaf Schultz had taken a more measured line toward Netanyahu as war has gripped the Mideast for over a year, incurring criticism by some Iranian dissidents.

Iran this month repatriated the body of German-Iranian citizen Jamshid Sharmahd after his death in an Iranian prison while awaiting execution.

Sharmahd was convicted of heading a pro-monarchist group accused of a deadly 2008 bombing at a religious center in Shiraz, which killed 14 people - charges he denied.

Late last year, Merz decried Sharmahd's death as a "horrible crime," writing on X: "The trial was a mockery of the international standards for due process of law. The Iranian regime is once again showing its inhuman character."

"The approach of 'quiet diplomacy' with #Iran has failed ... Germany #Iran policy in recent years has been characterized by the idea of a cooperative government in Tehran – this illusion was to be abandoned," he said.

Merz advocated heavier sanctions, downgrading relations and expelling Tehran's ambassador.