The continued Israeli military campaign in Lebanon could jeopardise peace talks expected between the United States and Iran over the war in the Middle East, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday.
“We view the situation in southern Lebanon with particular concern,” Merz said. “The severity with which Israel is waging war there could cause the peace process as a whole to fail, and that must not be allowed to happen.”
President Donald Trump has claimed victory in the Middle East war after agreeing a two-week truce to allow talks between US and Iranian negotiators.
But calls have grown for the fragile agreement to be expanded to cover Lebanon amid the continued Israeli offensive in the country.
Lebanon was drawn into the war after Hezbollah launched rocket fire on Israel to avenge the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel then invaded and staged air raids across Lebanon in a campaign that has killed more than 1,500 people, according to Lebanese authorities.
Merz said Germany wants to see “a swift end to a military escalation that is increasingly destabilising the Middle East”.
“Secondly, we want this war –- which has become a transatlantic stress test –- not to place any further strain on relations between the United States and its European NATO partners,” he said.
“Thirdly, we want free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz to be restored quickly and stably.”
Iran has agreed to temporarily reopen the key waterway as part of the two-week truce, but it is unclear if Tehran is in practice allowing vessels to pass through it.
Merz also said Germany has resumed talks with Iran “after a long period of silence, which we had serious reasons for”.
Talks would be held “in coordination with the United States and our European partners”, he said.
