“We will not participate in this war,” German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil of the Social Democrats told RND.
German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil on Saturday rejected Berlin’s participation in the escalating military conflict in Iran, describing the U.S.-Israeli campaign as “not our war” and flagging legal concerns over the strikes.
In an interview with RND, Klingbeil said that while the Iranian government is a “terror regime,” he has “considerable doubts” that air strikes will lead to a permanent solution or comply with international law.
“I say very clearly: This is not our war. We will not participate in this war,” said Klingbeil, who is with the Social Democrats. He warned against a global order where “only the law of the strongest applies,” calling for a return to a rules-based system.
Klingbeil’s comments come as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stepped back from his initial support for the U.S.-Israeli campaign. Meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week, Merz defended the strikes as a necessary response to decades of failed diplomacy regarding Iran’s nuclear program and regional destabilization.
But in recent days, the chancellor has said that neither “endless war” nor a collapse of the Iranian state is in Germany’s interest.