German President Steinmeier Calls US-Israel War on Iran a Breach of International Law

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the US-Israeli war on Iran a "violation of international law" and a "politically disastrous mistake" on Tuesday, delivering an unusually sharp rebuke of the military campaign during a ceremony in Berlin marking the 75th anniversary of the reestablishment of the German Foreign Ministry. Steinmeier, whose role as federal president is largely ceremonial, said the war was "an avoidable and unnecessary war, if its goal was to stop Iran on the path to the atomic bomb." He stated plainly that the US justification of an imminent Iranian attack on the United States "does not hold water." The speech placed Steinmeier in direct contrast with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has criticized the Iranian leadership and said Germany would have advised against the war, but has stopped short of declaring the campaign illegal under international law. Steinmeier, a former foreign minister and a member of the center-left SPD, addressed an audience of diplomats and officials, giving his remarks particular weight in the German political context.

Steinmeier warns of permanent break with Washington Steinmeier declared that transatlantic relations have crossed a threshold from which there is no return, drawing a direct parallel to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. „Just as I believe there will be no turning back in relations with Russia with regard to the period before 24 February 2022, I also believe there will be no turning back in transatlantic relations with regard to the period before 20 January 2025.” — Frank-Walter Steinmeier via Deutsche Welle He said the rupture with the United States is "too deep" and that "trust in American power politics has been lost, not only among our allies, but throughout the world." Steinmeier argued that Germany must draw the same lessons from its excessive dependence on Russia and apply them to the United States, particularly in the areas of defense and technology. He called for pragmatism in dealing with the current American administration while insisting that Germany must not compromise its own principles or abandon international law. „The rupture is too deep and the trust in American power politics has been lost, not only among our allies but... worldwide.” — Frank-Walter Steinmeier via ANSA He added that the European Union, built on law and rules, "will fall apart if we adopt the worldview of brute force as our own."

Merz government's silence on legality draws presidential rebuke Steinmeier's speech exposed a visible gap between Germany's head of state and its head of government on the question of the war's legal status. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has publicly criticized the Iranian leadership and expressed sympathy for several objectives of the US-Israeli campaign, but has consistently declined to answer questions about whether the war constitutes a violation of international law. Steinmeier addressed this silence directly. „Our foreign policy does not become more convincing just because we do not call a violation of international law a violation of international law.” — Frank-Walter Steinmeier via Deutsche Welle He noted that Germany had already faced this question during the Gaza war and that it must now confront it again in the context of Iran. Steinmeier recalled that he personally helped negotiate the 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran, saying that at the time of the deal, Iran had never been further from acquiring a nuclear weapon. He said Trump withdrew from that agreement during his first term and is now, in his second term, waging war — without, in Steinmeier's assessment, a concrete threat from Iran to the United States having materialized. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, speaking at the same event, acknowledged the changes underway in transatlantic relations and called European security — which he described as facing its most serious threat in 75 years — a top priority, while also urging that the United States' historical role in liberating Germany and enabling its reunification not be forgotten.

China displaces US as Germany's top trade partner in 2025 Steinmeier's call for reduced technological and economic dependency on the United States came against a backdrop of shifting trade patterns. China overtook the United States as Germany's largest trading partner in the first eight months of 2025, as higher tariffs weighed on German exports to the US. 163 (billion euros) — US-German trade volume in first eight months of 2025 Steinmeier pointed to the recent dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic over artificial intelligence safety guardrails as a potential wake-up call for Europe, and possibly an opportunity. He argued that Europe possesses the talent, market scale, and ethical standards to build its own technological base and should act on that foundation rather than remain dependent on American platforms and digital infrastructure. The speech drew applause from the diplomatic audience when Steinmeier declared that "international law is not an old glove that we should cast off when others do so," framing legal norms as essential to the survival of middle powers that cannot rely on raw military or economic strength alone.

The German Foreign Ministry was reestablished on March 15, 1951, as West Germany regained sovereignty in the post-World War II order. Frank-Walter Steinmeier served as Germany's foreign minister twice — under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and later under Chancellor Angela Merkel — before becoming federal president in March 2017. He was reelected for a second term in February 2022. As one of the architects of Germany's engagement policy toward Iran, Steinmeier was personally involved in negotiating the 2015 nuclear agreement. The US-Israeli war on Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury, began on February 28, 2026, with strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Mojtaba Khamenei, his son, was appointed Supreme Leader on March 9, 2026.