BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday that if the US had consulted Berlin about the US-Israel war against Iran, “we would have advised against taking this course of action.”
“We share with Israel and the United States the objective that Iran should no longer pose a threat in the future,” Merz told parliament.
“For years and decades, the Iranian regime has broken rule after rule, spread terror across the world, and destabilized the neighborhood. This regime bears responsibility for the current crisis in the region,” he said.
“At the same time, however, we have also made it clear that we still have many questions regarding this war,” Merz said, adding that the US and Israel had shown “no convincing plan as to how this operation could succeed.”
Washington had “not consulted” Germany about the war, Merz noted.
“We would have advised against taking this course of action as it has been pursued so far,” he said, reaffirming that “we have stated that, for as long as the war continues, we will not take part in it.”
Merz also called for an end to the conflict as quickly as possible.
“Europe has an interest in a swift end to the war, in preventing further regional escalation, and in avoiding the disintegration of Iran as a state,” he said.
Such a collapse would “severely compromise our security ... would have negative repercussions for our energy supply and could potentially trigger massive migration flows,” he said.
Germany and France have called for de-escalation of the Middle East war, with Germany’s foreign minister warning of a “crisis of the gravest order” if global supply chains continue to be disrupted.
“We must try to find a point where the military objectives (the United States and Israel) have been achieved, and where we can then move toward de-escalation and a cessation of hostilities,” Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said.
Otherwise, the region and the whole world could be plunged into “a crisis of the gravest order,” Wadephul said.
“The supply of fertilizer from this region alone is so essential that a prolonged disruption would threaten a food crisis across large parts of Africa,” he added, also highlighting the “refugee flows” that a prolonged war could cause.
Speaking alongside Wadephul in Berlin, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also called for “the swiftest possible de-escalation and a cessation of hostilities.”
“Military escalation in the region carries with it major risks for our interests, for the safety of our nationals on the ground, but also for our partners and for the global economy,” Barrot said.
Wadephul said a change of government in Iran was “desirable” given “the brutality and ruthlessness of this regime,” but warned that “this must develop from within the country.”
“This will not happen in the short term during wartime,” he predicted, warning that “such military interventions have not led to an orderly regime change in either Iraq or Libya.”
Barrot said Iran “must be prepared to make major concessions and undergo a radical change of stance, thereby paving the way for a political solution to emerge.”
Any negotiated solution must “enable Iran to coexist peacefully with its regional neighbors and allow the Iranian people to shape their future freely,” he said.
