German chancellor warns Iran war could hit Europe as hard as COVID-19

BERLIN

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday called for a rapid end to the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, warning that any escalation into a wider regional war would severely strain European economies.

“If this war escalates into a major regional conflict, it could burden Germany and Europe even more than we experienced most recently during the COVID-19 pandemic or at the beginning of the war in Ukraine (in February 2022),” he said at a joint press conference in Berlin with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Merz said that during their meeting with al-Sharaa, they discussed the recent developments in the Middle East and the dangers of a prolonged or expanding conflict.

“I think I can say that President al-Sharaa shares my — and indeed our — skepticism regarding the strategic objectives of this war,” he added. “We hope that we can find ways, and perhaps discuss with the US and Israeli governments, to end this war as quickly as possible. But it will only become clear in the coming days, perhaps weeks, how far this is possible.”

The chancellor also reiterated his view that the decades-long standoff over Iran’s nuclear program and Tehran’s destabilizing activities in the region “cannot be resolved by military means alone.” Merz said Germany could help secure the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities end and proposed establishing an “international contact group” to coordinate possible measures among countries willing to contribute.