German minister visits Israel, says Berlin is '100% behind Jerusalem'

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt joined Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in Israel on Sunday to inspect the devastating impact of Iranian missile strikes on residential civilian buildings in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam. Dobrindt emphasized that Berlin strongly supports Israel in its self-defense against the Iranian regime’s aggression against Israeli civilians. 

"Anyone who sees what the Iranians did to civilians here should fear what they could do with a nuclear bomb. We are 100% behind Israel’s actions in recent days, including the strike on nuclear sites,” Dobrindt stated. He further emphasized that potential Iranian nuclear weapons would also threaten Europe, the U.S. and the entire free world. 

“The nuclear threat is not only a danger to Israel but to all of Europe. Israel, Germany, and the United States will not accept a nuclear-armed Iran.”

The German minister is reportedly the first foreign diplomat to visit Israel after 12 days of war between Israel and the Iranian regime. Dobrindt thanked Sa'ar for inviting him and stressed the need for Germany and other countries to support Israel against the Islamic Republic's attacks on Israeli civilians. 

"There is no justification for attacks on a civilian population, as occurred here," Dobrindt stated. 

Sa'ar thanked the German minister for his support, saying, “I thank my friend, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, for coming on a solidarity visit to Israel and for his long-standing friendship and consistent support of Israel."

Sa’ar stressed that the Israeli military's pre-emptive strike had successfully neutralized an existential threat from Iran. 

"Israel acted to remove an immediate existential threat, and did so successfully. Now, the international community must take concrete steps against Iran’s nuclear program, especially in light of the Iranian regime’s attacks on the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and its announcement that it will stop cooperating with it," he stated. 

The Iranian regime has chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” for decades. The ayatollahs openly call for Israel’s destruction while officially denying that they seek nuclear weapons to realize this goal. However, Tehran has insisted on enriching uranium to 60% – close to military grade.

While Israel severely degraded Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities, Tehran fired hundreds of missiles at mainly civilian areas in Israel, killing as many as 29.

In addition to taking the lives of innocent civilians, the Iranian missiles also caused significant damage to buildings in several Israeli cities. However, the number of Israeli fatalities could have been much higher if Israel had not preemptively evacuated patients from a ward in the Israeli Soroka Medical Center located in southern Israel, which was severely damaged by a missile. 

Germany has in recent years emerged as one of Israel’s strongest allies in the European Union. 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz praised Israel’s military offensive against Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities.

“This is the dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us,” Merz said on the sidelines of the recent G7 meeting in Canada.

Merz emphasized that the Iranian ayatollah regime has become a global security threat. 

“We are also affected by this regime,” he said.

“The leadership in Tehran has brought death and destruction upon the world – through attacks, through murder and slaughter, through Hezbollah, through Hamas. I can only say: the greatest respect for the fact that the Israeli army, the Israeli leadership had the courage to do this,” he added.

Merz concluded by expressing hope that the Israeli strikes had permanently weakened the ayatollah regime’s capabilities to threaten the world.

“This regime is very weakened and will probably not return to its former strength, making the future of the country uncertain. We will have to wait and see."