Sri Lanka, April 27 -- It is too soon to lift sanctions against Iran in return for reopen the Strait of Hormuz, said Ursula von der Leyen in a slap down to Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor.

Iran has shut down the Strait of Hormuz - the conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and LNG - for close to two months and Europe's energy stocks are starting to run dry.

The European Commission President used a Berlin visit to rebuke Chancellor Merz, a fellow German Christian Democrat, after he proposed easing sanctions for restoring energy flows.

"We think the dropping of sanctions would be too early," said Von der Leyen. "There is a reason why the sanctions are imposed on Iran, [because of] their behaviour towards their own population."

The...