The provision of military aid to Israel in view of the risk of reprisals from Iran is requested by the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) in charge of foreign policy matters Roderich Kiesewetter. “No such question currently arises,” the government replies.

“In view of the imminent Iranian attack, the federal government must finally wake up and offer military support to Israel to defend itself,” Mr Kiesewetter, who is also a former Bundeswehr officer, told Der Spiegel magazine. According to him, it is legitimate to refuel fighter jets from friendly states, but also to use the Bundeswehr’s own Eurofighters, for example in defense against Iranian drones. “The issue is exclusively the protection of the Israeli population. If Israel’s security is truly a state imperative, the federal government and especially the Chancellery should finally pursue realpolitik,” he stressed, and asked the government “not to wait until Israel asks for help, but to offer it on its own of the initiative and to campaign for it in the Bundestag already now.”

In the same context, the government commissioner for anti-Semitism, Felix Klein, considers Germany’s support for Israel justified. “If Iran attacks Israel and the Israeli government makes a request to Germany for military support, we should not turn a blind eye,” Mr. Klein told the Funke Media Group, explaining that “since in this case the attack emanated from a state actor, the Bundeswehr’s military intervention would have been clearly justified under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.” Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, however, said on the same issue that “there is currently no question” of German participation in an operation to protect Israel.