The CDU foreign‑policy specialist Norbert Röttgen has taken to the airwaves to denounce President Trump after the latter’s postponed ultimatum toward Iran. When asked whose words he thinks carry more weight in the reported U.S.-Iran talks, Röttgen told RTL and ntv, “I would say the Iranian side has more credibility”.
Röttgen explained that Trump’s approach to war is weak. He warns that Trump issues threats and then retracts them with statements that are also denied by the Iranian government. “It does not look good for Trump’s role” he said, adding that the United States seems to have no coherent strategy for the Strait of Hormuz. “Such erratic, contradictory conduct breeds uncertainty and panic in the markets”.
He argues that a swift end to conflict in Iran that leaves the regime in place is not desirable. “Once you start a war, you must also be determined to achieve specific objectives”. The Iranian regime has proved it can keep the strategic control of the Strait of Hormuz and that the U.S. cannot simply wrest it away. If the regime survives while still possessing enriched uranium, it would, according to Röttgen, emerge even stronger from the war.
“In that case, we would see a strategic strengthening of the regime and a lingering geopolitical weakening of the United States” he added. He called on Americans to prevent such a scenario. “It is in our interest that the Iranian regime falls; it would not be in our interest for the United States to lose”. Otherwise, Germany, Europe, and Gulf states would remain perpetually vulnerable to Iranian pressure.
