German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has lauded Israel’s military strikes against Iran, saying the Israeli government and army are doing the “dirty work” of Western nations.
Merz made the remarks in a series of interviews on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada, attended by all guarantors of the original 2015 Iran nuclear deal, except for Russia and China.
“This is the dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us. We are also victims of this regime,” he said in an interview with ZDF, claiming that “this mullah regime has brought death and destruction to the world.”
I can only say: The greatest respect for the fact that the Israeli army and the Israeli leadership had the courage to do this.
“I assume that the attacks of the last few days have already weakened the mullah regime considerably and that it is unlikely to return to its former strength, making the future of the country uncertain,” Merz said in a separate interview with Die Welt.
Germany is part of the P5+1 group, which negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, in 2015. Despite his support for the strikes, Merz stated that Berlin is ready to back new negotiations to ensure Iran never obtains nuclear weapons.
West Jerusalem justified its attack on Friday by claiming Iran is on the brink of obtaining nuclear weapons. Tehran has repeatedly denied the accusations, maintaining that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
Iran retaliated by firing dozens of ballistic missiles into Israel, with both sides exchanging attacks ever since. Iran has reported at least 224 deaths since the hostilities began. Israel has reported 24 deaths.
In a joint statement on Monday, the leaders of the G7 called Iran the “principal source of regional instability and terror,” adding: “we have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”
US President Donald Trump, who abruptly cut his stay at the G7 summit short, demanded an “unconditional surrender” from Iran on Tuesday.
Washington previously demanded that Tehran stop all uranium enrichment, which Iranian officials described as “completely detached from reality.”
Iran currently enriches uranium to 60% purity, far above the 3.67% cap set under the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal, which was rendered null and void after Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from it during his first term.
Russia has condemned Israel’s initial airstrikes and called for deescalation. President Vladimir Putin spoke with Trump by phone over the weekend, and according to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, the two discussed the possibility of reviving negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
