German Chancellor Friedrich Merz didn't pick the diplomatic vocabulary: Iran is "negotiating very skillfully - or better said, very skillfully avoiding negotiations," while American negotiators traveled all the way to Islamabad only to come back empty-handed. "Trump is being outplayed," was the gist of his assessment.

Trump replied with his own reading of the same situation: "We hold all the cards" and called on Iran to come to Washington or get in touch. The Iranian side proposed a ceasefire deal aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with nuclear questions deferred for later. Trump refused.

Merz isn't talking about Iran in a vacuum - he's talking about a transatlantic split. The German chancellor is publicly questioning the US administration's ability to achieve its own goals - and that's a step European leaders rarely take so openly. That it's Merz making it - the chancellor portrayed as closer to Trump than previous German heads of government - is a measure of how deep the rift runs.

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi has meanwhile met with Putin, seeking support to soften the effects of the blockade. Each side is looking at a different exit - and neither side, for now, looks ready for a real compromise. Hormuz stays closed.