German President Says Trump’s War on Iran Should Cause Permanent Rupture With US

By Sharon Zhang

This article was originally published by Truthout

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has issued a rare condemnation of the U.S. over President Donald Trump’s “disastrous” war on Iran, saying that it causes an irreparable rupture with the U.S. akin to Germany’s rupture with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

In remarks to German diplomats in Berlin, Steinmeier said that the war “violates international law” and that the U.S.’s justification of an imminent attack from Iran clearly “does not hold water.”

Steinmeier’s role as president is largely ceremonial, with the German chancellor, currently right-winger Friedrich Merz, holding more power. A member of the center-left Social Democratic Party, Steinmeier was formerly foreign minister for Germany under Angela Merkel in 2013 to 2017, when he helped to negotiate the Iran nuclear deal that Trump later exited.

“This war is also — and please bear with me when I say this, as someone directly involved — a politically disastrous mistake,” Steinmeier told the crowd. “And that’s what frustrates me the most. A truly avoidable, unnecessary war, if its goal was to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.”

The president also said that the war has triggered a rupture in relations with the U.S. similar to Germany’s abrupt announcement that it was breaking ties with Russia after it launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Just as I believe there will be no going back to the way things were before February 24, 2022 in our relationship with Russia, so I believe there will be no going back to the way things were before January 20, 2025 in transatlantic relations,” said Steinmeier.

He said that “the rupture is too deep” and that trust in U.S. power is being degraded not just in Germany, but among its allies worldwide.

Germany must instead figure out different avenues for military and technological support, the German president said, adding that the German military “must become the backbone of conventional defense in Europe.”

Steinmeier did not directly address Israel in the remarks. For many years, including during Steinmeier’s terms as foreign minister, Germany has been one of the top foreign providers for Israel’s military, and the country has been a staunch supporter of Israel amid its U.S.-sponsored genocide in Gaza.

The German president also did not appear to acknowledge his country’s role in aiding the U.S. and Israel’s current war. Germany has declined sending their own military to help in the U.S. and Israel’s bombardments but is still allowing the U.S. military to use its airbase in Ramstein to coordinate drone strikes on Iran. Trump has praised Germany for this, and in a meeting at the White House with Merz early in the war, said that Germany is “helping out” with the effort.

Merz has expressed support for the war, saying at that meeting that “we are on the same page in terms of getting this terrible regime in Iran away.” 

Last year, the chancellor had also praised Israel for attacking Iran during its 12-day war in June, drawing criticism for offensive and dehumanizing language in his remarks.

“This is dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us,” he said. At the time of the remarks, the U.S. had not yet joined Israel in direct strikes on the country, but Merz suggested that he would be in support of U.S. intervention in the war.

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