German politicians scrambled to interpret this weekend’s developments in the Middle East after strikes by Israel and the United States on Iran. Conservative voices in government urged caution in assessing the military action, even as many in Germany had long expected the US might act against Tehran.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) gave a brief statement on Sunday. His spokesman said Merz had been informed in advance about the strikes and had spoken by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Merz met with his cabinet’s security ministers before declaring: “The mullah regime is a terror regime, responsible for decades of oppression of the Iranian people.” He warned that Iran threatened Israel’s existence and was responsible for terror carried out by groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. “Together with the United States and Israel, we share the goal of ending the terror of these regimes,” he said.
At the same time, Merz cautioned that the airstrikes carried significant risks: “We do not know whether they will succeed in bringing about political change from within through military action from outside.” He declined to deliver a legal judgment under international law, saying: “This is not the moment to lecture our partners and allies. Despite our reservations, we share many of their objectives.”
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) also voiced doubts. In interviews over the weekend he stressed Germany was not seeking regime change and noted Iran’s role in supplying Russia with drones for its war against Ukraine. “At this point, I am not making a final assessment under international law,” Wadephul said.
Merz’s and Wadephul’s cautious stance echoed Germany’s earlier response to a US operation that detained former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and flew him to New York for trial — an action many experts deemed a violation of international law, though the German government did not publicly adopt that view. Another practical reason for the careful wording: Merz is due to begin a long‑planned visit to the United States and is scheduled to meet President Trump in Washington this week.
Representatives of the government’s junior coalition partner, the SPD, sounded more wary of escalation. Foreign policy expert Adis Ahmetovic said Germany shared the goal that Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon but argued the dispute did not justify “a war with unforeseeable consequences for the entire region.” He called for de‑escalation and diplomacy.
Many German politicians also fear the conflict could spill into Europe and Germany. Federal Commissioner for Combating Antisemitism Felix Klein warned Iran could use its networks to carry out attacks against Jewish and Israeli institutions in Germany. Security officials estimated about 1,250 Hezbollah activists active in Germany in 2024.
The opposition Greens questioned the legitimacy of the strikes. Parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge said the US and Israel justified their interventions by claiming an immediate threat from Iran, but there was no clear international legal mandate for the actions. She noted that a right of self‑defense argument would be subject to strict conditions that, she argued, likely were not met. Bundestag Vice President Omid Nouripour, born in Iran, avoided a legal assessment and wrote that people in Iran longed above all for freedom — a sentiment most German politicians share.
This article was originally written in German.
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