German president says ‘no reason’ to align with Trump on Iran war

The conflict was "a politically disastrous mistake" and "a truly avoidable, unnecessary war, if its aim was to stop Iran on the path to an atomic bomb", Steinmeier told an audience attending an event in Berlin marking the 75th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Foreign Office after World War II.

The Iran war is "contrary to international law", the German president stressed, adding there was little doubt that Washington's justification of an imminent attack on the United States is not supported.

Iran had never been further away from nuclear armament than after the 2015 nuclear deal, he said. Steinmeier was involved in that agreement as foreign minister at the time. Trump terminated it during his first term as president.

Sharp words for Trump

The German president criticised the new orientation of the Trump administration, arguing not only that Germany doesn't need to follow along but that even with a new US administration, the trans-Atlantic relationship is irrevocably changed.

"The rupture and the lost trust in American great-power politics run too deep," he said.

Even a future US administration "will not simply be able to pick up again the role of the friendly hegemon" and of a guarantor of a liberal international order, he said.

"The current American administration has a different world view from ours, one that takes no account of established rules, partnerships and trust built up over time," Steinmeier said.

While this had to be dealt with, "we have no reason whatsoever to align ourselves with this worldview," he said.

Instead, the trans-Atlantic relationship must also "free itself from dependencies that make us vulnerable".

This applies first and foremost to security and technology, according to the president.

Dependence in the technological sphere means not only foreign policy power, he said, "but also the power to use digital platforms and social media to influence ... our domestic policy."

German foreign policy is now facing a fundamental reorientation, Steinmeier said.

"The world in our heads must be mapped anew," he told the audience. The West remains "a valuable normative ideal, but the West as a political reality does not currently exist".

Steinmeier: Do not disregard international law

Foreign policy must become more pragmatic and more effective, but "that does not mean disregarding international law", Steinmeier said.

German foreign policy does not become more convincing "by not calling a breach of international law a breach of international law", he said.

Germany had already had to grapple with this in the Gaza war and now had to deal with the same question in the Iran war, according to the president.

Backlash to Steinmeier's comments from Merz's party

Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has clearly distanced himself from the Iran war, but unlike other European partners, he has so far refrained from describing the US and Israeli attacks as a breach of international law.

Jürgen Hardt, the foreign policy spokesman for the parliamentary group in the Bundestag consisting of Merz's CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), criticised Social Democrat Steinmeier's remarks, news outlet t-online reported.

"The federal government, which alone is responsible for this question, has not yet completed its assessment under international law," Hardt told the news portal. "All representatives of the Federal Republic of Germany who hold office should abide by that."

He said the federal government was acting thoughtfully and sovereignly in a complex situation.

But Steinmeier warned against following down a wrong path.

"International law is not an old glove that we should strip off when others do," Steinmeier warned to applause. "On the contrary, it is vital for all those who do not count themselves among the great powers."

The European Union is built on law and rules and would "collapse in on itself if we were to make the worldview of raw power our own."

A united and strong Europe is "the geopolitical imperative of our time," he said, echoing comments made earlier at the event by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.

Organize security against, not with Russia

Even once Russia's war against Ukraine is over, there can be no question of peace "with this Russia", Steinmeier said.

Europe must organise its security against Russia, not with Russia, he said.

German foreign policy always needs four pillars, Steinmeier said: military strength to be taken seriously, smart diplomacy to devise solutions and forge alliances, culture, business and science as an attraction for the world and international order as a framework and direction.

The president appealed to Foreign Office staff: "Do not lose this compass."

Wadephul: Transatlantic relationship in profound transformation

Wadephul noted profound changes in US policy but avoided clear criticism of Trump's course. "Our trans-Atlantic relationship is undergoing a profound transformation," he said.

But people should never forget that it was above all the US that liberated Germany from the Nazi regime, shaped the young republic and made reunification possible.