US approves sale of Tomahawk missiles to Germany: Merz

BERLIN: The United States has approved the sale of long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday, despite previous doubts over a planned deployment.

“On the sidelines of the NATO meeting in Ankara, we agreed with the American government that American Tomahawk missiles will be purchased by us and stationed in Germany,” Merz told MPs in a statement to parliament.

The move will “close an important strategic gap in our defences”, he said.

“At the same time we will work on developing our own European systems and stationing them in Europe.”

In May Merz suggested that a planned deployment of Tomahawk missiles to Germany — announced by former US president Joe Biden — was being called off.

At the time Merz cited depleted arsenals because of the wars in Iran and Ukraine as the reason.

It also followed a spat between Merz and US President Donald Trump over the war in Iran.

In April Merz said that Iran was “humiliating” Washington at the negotiating table.

That provoked angry responses from Washington, including comments from Trump that Merz was doing a “terrible” job as chancellor.

The missiles are mainly launched from submarines and warships and can travel more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles).