German foreign minister says expects direct US-Iran talks in Pakistan

The United States and Iran are preparing for direct talks "very soon," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday, as diplomatic efforts to end the Middle East war continue.

"According to my information, there have been indirect contacts. And they have also prepared for a direct meeting," Wadephul told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.

He added that such a meeting was "expected to take place in Pakistan very soon", without revealing the source of the information.

On Thursday US envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that Pakistan had passed a 15-point American peace plan to Iran.

Wadephul was speaking before a meeting of G7 foreign ministers near Paris which will also be attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Germany's top diplomat said he hoped Rubio would tell his counterparts more about "the approach and the interests of the US" in relation to the conflict.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz initially voiced support for the US-Israeli war, but has since expressed growing concern about the costs of the conflict.

The German government has repeatedly said it will not become a direct party to the war.

US President Donald Trump has launched several broadsides at America's Nato partners, on Thursday saying that the alliance had "done absolutely nothing" to help in the war.

Wadephul in the interview called the American criticism "irritating" and said the US had not asked Germany for concrete help.

Agence France-Presse