After initial strikes by Israel and the United States, Iran launched retaliatory attacks aimed primarily at US military installations. Some of those strikes hit bases where German forces are also stationed — though the Bundeswehr does not operate those bases and was not the intended target, officials say.
One strike struck a base near Erbil in northern Iraq and another impacted a site in Jordan that houses German troops, the Bundeswehr Operational Command confirmed. No German soldiers were injured: personnel were in protected positions or accommodations when missiles and drones were intercepted by air defenses.
“The German soldiers and contingents were not the immediate target,” the German Defense Ministry said. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius reiterated the government’s stance in the Bundestag: “Germany is not a party to the war, and the German military will not participate in this war.” The ministry added that precautions to protect German personnel in the region had been put in place in good time.
Two missions, about 500 soldiers
Around 500 German personnel are authorized to serve in Iraq and Jordan; current figures are reported as “more than 200,” with the remainder deployed elsewhere in the region. The Bundeswehr is also part of a separate Mediterranean mission off Lebanon.
UNIFIL: maritime security off Lebanon
More than 200 German soldiers and a German frigate take part in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which focuses on preventing weapons smuggling by sea and training the Lebanese Navy. The Bundestag has renewed this UN mandate repeatedly over nearly two decades; the current mandate expires on June 30, prompting debate about whether the mission can continue under the present security conditions.
Counter‑Daesh/Capacity Building in Iraq and Jordan
In Iraq and Jordan, Germany contributes to the international mission against the Islamic State — now called Counter Daesh/Capacity Building Iraq/NATO Mission Iraq — which trains and advises Iraqi and Kurdish security forces to prevent an IS resurgence. The Bundeswehr’s main presence is in Erbil in the Kurdish north, with some advisors in Baghdad and a larger contingent based at the Al-Asrak air base in Jordan. Germany also provides tanker and transport aircraft that could be used for rapid redeployment if necessary.
The Bundestag extended the mandate for the Iraq/Jordan mission in January for another year, through January 31, 2027, and the Operational Command says no adjustments are planned at present. Germany withdrew some personnel from Erbil in mid‑February as tensions between the US and Iran rose.
Broader strain and questions ahead
The Middle East missions are only part of the Bundeswehr’s international commitments: about 2,000 German soldiers serve across 17 operations on three continents. Those multiple deployments have strained personnel and resources, and the safety of German contingents in the Middle East is being reassessed continuously by Operational Command.
The immediate policy decisions now focus on whether to scale back or withdraw forces and on the fate of UNIFIL’s mandate when it expires at the end of June. For the moment, Berlin stresses it is not joining the conflict directly, while monitoring risks to its troops and adjusting force protection as needed.
This article was originally written in German.