The phone call was conducted on Tuesday. German government's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, told reporters late on Tuesday that the leaders had discussed the "tense situation" in Iran and Iraq.

"President Donald J Trump spoke today with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. The two leaders discussed the security situation in the Middle East and Libya and agreed to continue close coordination moving forward," White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere told reporters.

Meanwhile, already after the conversation the tensions in Washington's relations with the Middle East escalated further, with Iran conducting missile strikes on military facilities housing US troops in Iraq, as a retaliation to the killing of Iran's top military commander Qasem Soleimani.