Status: 22.06.2025 12:06

Chancellor Merz has called on Iran to return to the negotiating table immediately. He has also convened the Security Cabinet to discuss the consequences of the US attack.

Following the US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, Chancellor Friedrich Merz convened the German government's security cabinet this morning, his spokesperson announced. Merz reiterated his call for Iran to immediately begin negotiations with the US and Israel and reach a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Federal government expects major damage

According to the statement, the German government assumes that large parts of Iran's nuclear program were compromised by the airstrikes. However, a detailed damage assessment will only be possible later.

In addition, the Federal Chancellor and the ministers of the Security Cabinet will coordinate closely with partners in the European Union and the USA on further steps during the course of the day, the Federal Government statement continued.

According to government sources, the German government was informed by the White House after the attacks began. Chancellor Merz reportedly coordinated with the situation center that night.

Union parliamentary group deputy Hardt welcomes attacks

Deputy CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Jürgen Hardt welcomed the US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities."After Iran's refusal to accept the Europeans' offer of negotiations, the consequences of a US strike against the nuclear facilities were foreseeable," the CDU politician told the Reuters news agency."This will likely set the nuclear program back at least years, to the benefit of Israel and the entire free world, including Germany."

Hardt accuses Iran of a "blatant lie" that the country is not building a nuclear bomb, even though both its nuclear and missile programs have clearly moved in that direction."Now it's important to limit potential political and ecological repercussions in the region," Hardt warns. He is counting on many Arab states to at least secretly approve of the strike.

Mützenich fears further escalation

In contrast, former SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich fears further wars and destabilization in the region following the US attack."The attempt to strengthen the international order through cooperation, control, and treaties will be set back by decades," Mützenich told the Tagesspiegel newspaper.

But he also accused those responsible in Iran of trying to create facts to make the path to a nuclear bomb irreversible."But President Trump, too, has destroyed the brief period of contractual containment of the conflict by unilaterally terminating the nuclear agreement during his first term," the SPD politician criticized.

Mützenich also sees this as a failure of European foreign policy."It cannot be ruled out that the regime in Iran will not survive the next few days. But it is also likely that the region will enter a phase of further wars and destabilization, with the associated consequences for the people and the natural resources that this will entail," said the SPD politician.