German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has sent two warnings to her Iranian counterpart, Amir Hossein Abdollahian, to prevent escalation with Israel.
Although her first call that came prior to the Iranian attack on Israel did not deter Tehran from its plans, the German diplomat sent a second warning, condemning the Iranian strike and calling on Tehran “to immediately stop the violence against Israel and contribute to reducing the escalation.”
While Germany is making every effort to persuade Iran and Israel to alleviate the tension, the country has been facing increasing internal pressure to change its policy towards Iran.
Michael Roth, a representative of the ruling Socialist Party and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, said on X: “Germany’s policy towards Iran must be radically rethought.”
He called for taking four steps in response to Iran’s attack on Israel. First, “the sanctions must be tightened, as Germany is Iran’s most important European partner.” Second, he stressed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard should be “finally” included on the terrorist list, and third, he underlined the importance of working to “isolate Iran diplomatically.” He also stressed the need to “expand defense cooperation with Israel.”
A similar call was issued by Bijan Djir-Sarai, Secretary-General of the Liberal Party. He said that the European Union must “adopt a different policy towards Iran,” pointing to the need to include the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on the terrorist list.
Markus Söder, leader of the opposition Bavarian Social Christian party, urged his country and the European Union to adopt “a completely different policy towards Iran”.
He added that it was essential to discuss how Iran can be deterred, by adopting a completely different economic and trade policy designed for sanctions.
