Germany's Merz says Israel doing 'dirty work for us' in Iran – DW – 06/17/2025
Skip next section Germany's Merz says Israel 'doing dirty work for all of us' in Iran
06/17/2025
June 17, 2025 Germany's Merz says Israel 'doing dirty work for all of us' in Iran
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has expressed respect for Israel's attack on Iran, calling it a service to Western allies.
"This is the dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us," Merz said Tuesday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF.
"We are also victims of this regime. This mullah regime has brought death and destruction to the world," he added.
"I can only say: the greatest respect for the fact that the Israeli army and the Israeli leadership had the courage to do this."
Merz said Israel's attacks on Iran could lead to the downfall of the Islamic Republic's leadership.
"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 an interview with Germany's Welt TV at the G7 summit in Canada.
Iranian officials have reported 224 deaths, mostly civilians, in attacks that Israel initially said targeted military officials and nuclear scientists.
Israel says 24 civilians had been killed in Iranian attacks on its territory.
Germany has remained one of Israel's biggest supporters, going so far as to intervene on behalf of Israel in South Africa's accusation of genocide in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
43 minutes ago
- Int'l Business Times
Nelson Mandela's Grandson Gets Passport Seized in Egypt During Global March to Gaza: 'Many Governments Have Failed Palestinians'
Nelson Mandela's grandson, Mandla Mandela, had his passport seized by Egyptian officials while attempting to break the siege in the Gaza Strip through the "Global March to Gaza," which began on June 15. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who helped end apartheid in South Africa, Mandela joined more than 4,000 activists from 80 countries in traveling to Cairo on Sunday to break the siege and deliver humanitarian aid to more than 2 million starving Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. However, Egyptian authorities, acting in coordination with the Israeli and U.S. governments, have attempted to halt the march by detaining activists, including Mandela, and confiscating their passports. Mandela acknowledged that he had anticipated "coming to Egypt would not be easy," but criticized the Egyptian government as hypocritical for calling for a ceasefire and the free flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza in the media while simultaneously detaining activists. He added that marchers who managed to enter Cairo have faced significant obstacles at tollgates, likening them to checkpoints in the West Bank. Some have even been beaten, according to Reuters. In one incident, Mandela said his passport was confiscated and withheld for six hours, only returned on the condition that he board a bus and leave for Gaza, which he said he will not do. "Unfortunately, we as the international solidarity movement in the Global March to Gaza are not here for the interests of Egypt. We are here for the interests of Palestinians," Mandela explained in a 7-minute interview with The Crispin Flintoff Show. "We can no longer sit idle while babies, children and women in particular are butchered, massacred on a daily basis through a genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity," he continued, adding that the Israeli regime must be held accountable "through the rightful institutions like the ICJ and ICC." Mandela noted that many marchers have received support from their embassies, which have pressured Egyptian authorities to release detained nationals at Cairo International Airport. However, he emphasized that governments must do more to support the cause. "We must send a clear and strong message that many governments have failed the Palestinian people and the Palestinians are now looking to civil society," Mandela stated. "Everyone that is here is not coming from government structures but are in touch and bound by humanity. These are civil society organizations that have come together to say that they cannot sit silent anymore and watch babies on a daily basis being massacred." Thousands of trucks filled with aid are waiting to be distributed by participants in the Global March to Gaza to starving Palestinians across the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), however, continue blocking any aid from entering. Meanwhile, the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid sites have turned into daily massacres for Palestinian people. Since the four sites, run by U.S. and IDF soldiers, opened on May 26, nearly 400 Palestinians have been killed and thousands have been injured while trying to obtain food and aid for their families. Originally published on Latin Times Nelson mandela Israel Egypt South Africa
DW
3 hours ago
- DW
Dozens killed at aid distribution center in Gaza – DW – 06/17/2025
Olivera Zivkovic 06/17/2025 June 17, 2025 Health officials in Gaza say more than 50 people have been killed by Israeli tank and gunfire as they waited to receive food in Khan Younis. Hundreds more were wounded. It is the deadliest such shooting since Israel started a new aid distribution system.
Int'l Business Times
3 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
EU Chief Says Pressure Off For Lower Russia Oil Price Cap
EU Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said surging energy prices have reduced the urgency to slash the price cap on Russia's global oil exports. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, had suggested cutting the current oil price cap from $60 to $45 as Moscow drags its feet on a ceasefire in Ukraine. The measure would have been a major component of a fresh wave of sanctions against Russia planned by the EU, with hopes that the United States would also commit. The EU had said it would make its case at the G7 summit being held at a wooded resort in Alberta, Canada, but the gathering was overshadowed by the conflict between Israel and Iran that sent US President Donald Trump home early to handle the crisis. The current $60 cap "had little effect, but in the last days, we have seen that the oil price has risen [and] the cap in place does serve its function," von der Leyen told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 meeting. "So for the moment, there's little pressure on lowering the oil price cap," she added. The existing cap was a G7 initiative aimed at limiting the amount of money Russia makes by exporting oil to countries across the world. It was designed to limit the price Moscow can get for oil by banning shipping firms and insurance companies from dealing with Russia to export above that amount. Under the leadership of the previous Biden administration, it was set at $60 by the G7 in late 2022, months after the invasion of Ukraine. To have the most impact, the EU and other G7 partners need to get the United States to follow suit and agree to the price cut. But Trump so far has frustrated Western allies by refusing to impose new sanctions on Russia despite President Vladimir Putin's failure to agree to a Ukraine ceasefire. Von der Leyen said the G7 leaders, with Trump still present, on Monday discussed coordinating on sanctions against Russia "to put more pressure" on Russian President Vladimir Putin. The EU's latest proposal for an 18th round of sanctions since Russia's invasion also includes measures to stop the defunct Baltic Sea gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 from being brought back online. "The fact that we have just put another hardened, biting package of sanctions on Russia is proof" of the EU's continued support for Ukraine, von der Leyen said.
