Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks about the Iran War in a speech on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Foreign Office.Image: keystone
Mar 24, 2026, 2:34 p.mMar 24, 2026, 2:34 p.m
German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is extremely critical of the Iran war started by Israel and the USA – and calls for more distance from Donald Trump’s US government.
The war was “a politically fatal mistake” and “a really avoidable, unnecessary war if its goal was to stop Iran on the path to the atomic bomb,” said Germany’s head of state at an event on the 75th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Foreign Office after the Second World War on March 15, 1951 in Berlin.
The Federal President has little political power in Germany and primarily performs representative tasks.
Steinmeier added that the Iran war was “in my opinion contrary to international law.” There is little doubt that the justification for an imminent attack on the USA is not valid. Iran has never been further away from nuclear disarmament than after the nuclear agreement of 2015. Steinmeier, as Foreign Minister at the time, was involved in the agreement. It was canceled by US President Donald Trump during his first term in office.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the Iran War:
Video: watson/X
Steinmeier: Don’t ignore international law
Steinmeier demanded that German foreign policy must become more pragmatic and effective. But: “That doesn’t mean ignoring international law.” The Social Democrat added: “Our foreign policy does not become more convincing because we do not call a breach of international law a breach of international law.” We had to deal with this in the Gaza war, and we now have to deal with this question in the Iran war.
Germany’s head of government, the Christian Democrat Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has clearly distanced himself from the Iran war, but, unlike other European partners, is holding back from assessing the attacks by the USA and Israel as a violation of international law.
“International law is not an old glove that we should throw off when others do it,” warned the Federal President to applause. “On the contrary: it is vital for the survival of everyone who does not consider themselves to be a major power.” The European Union is built on law and rules and would “collapse if we adopted the worldview of raw power as our own.” A closed and strong Europe is “the geopolitical imperative of this time”.
Steinmeier: No reason to align yourself with the US government’s worldview
“The current American government has a different worldview than we do, one that takes no account of established rules, partnership and increased trust,” criticized Steinmeier. You have to deal with that. But “we have no reason whatsoever to approach this worldview.” Rather, in the transatlantic relationship we also have to “break away from dependencies that make us vulnerable”.
This primarily concerns security and technology. Dependency in the technological sector not only means foreign policy power, “but also the power to influence (…) our domestic policy via digital platforms and social media.” (nil/sda/dpa)