BERLIN

Germany on Saturday ruled out joining the US-Israeli war in Iran.

“I say very clearly: This is not our war. We will not participate in this war,” said Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil in an interview with media outlet RND.

He warned of "the great danger that we are sliding ever deeper into a world where there are no longer any rules. We do not want to live in a world where only the law of the strongest applies.“

The vice chancellor also said he had ”great doubts that this war is legitimate under international law."

Klingbeil clearly opposed the stance taken by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who had declared that his government shared “the goals of the United States and Israel regarding Iran's nuclear and missile program, Tehran's threat to Israel, and its support for terrorism and proxies.”

Tensions in the Middle East have escalated since the United States and Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,000 people, including Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, over 150 schoolgirls, and senior military officials.

Iran has retaliated with sweeping barrages of its own that have targeted US bases, diplomatic facilities, and military personnel across the region, as well as multiple Israeli cities. The attacks have continued to escalate.