Germany's Merz praises Israel for doing ‘dirty work for us'
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz publicly lauded Israel's military strikes against Iran, stating that the Israeli government and army have courageously undertaken the 'dirty work' on behalf of Western nations.
The German leader made the remarks in a series of interviews on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada, attended by all guarantors of the original 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,' Merz 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 added in a separate interview with Welt.
Germany is part of the P5+1 group that negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, back in 2015. Despite his support for the strikes, Merz claimed that Berlin stands ready to back new negotiations to ensure that Iran never obtains nuclear weapons.
West Jerusalem justified its Friday attack by claiming Iran was on the brink of obtaining a nuclear weapon. Tehran has repeatedly denied such accusations, maintaining that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
Iran retaliated by firing dozens of ballistic missiles into Israel, with the sides exchanging attacks ever since. Iran has reported at least 224 deaths since hostilities began, while in Israel the government reports 24 fatalities.
In a joint statement on Monday, the leaders of the G7 branded Iran as 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 demanded an 'unconditional surrender' from Iran on Tuesday, warning that he wanted Iran to forgo 'entirely nuclear weapons.' Washington previously demanded that Tehran stop all uranium enrichment – something 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 de-escalation. President Vladimir Putin spoke with Trump by phone over the weekend, and according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, the two discussed the possibility of reviving negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
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