German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, co-leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), a partner party in the coalition government, told RND in an interview that Germany will not participate in this war against Iran.
On 7 March, Lars Klingbeil, in an interview with the RND news network, expressed “serious doubts regarding the legitimacy of this war under international law,” characterising the US-Israeli campaign as “not our war” and highlighting legal reservations about the airstrikes.
While acknowledging the Iranian government as a “terror regime,” Klingbeil conveyed “considerable doubts” that airstrikes would lead to a sustainable resolution or comply with established international legal standards. He emphasised the importance of a rule-based global order, warning against a situation in which “only the law of the strongest applies.”
Klingbeil’s remarks come in the context of Chancellor Friedrich Merz‘s reassessment of his initial support for the US-Israeli military actions. Merz has recently indicated that neither “endless war” nor the destabilisation of the Iranian state aligns with Germany’s interests.
The prime minister of Spain, the president of Slovenia, and the defence minister of Switzerland have publicly condemned the US and Israeli bombings of Iran, asserting that these actions constitute a violation of international law.
