Jürgen Hardt, the foreign‑policy spokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, criticized German President Frank‑Walter Steinmeier for calling the conflict in Iran a violation of international law. Hardt told the news portal T‑Online that the government responsible for this issue had not yet completed its legal assessment and that all German representatives, in office and in title, should respect that process. He added that the federal government is acting carefully and sovereignly in a complex situation, a point that was evident in the excellent speech delivered by Foreign Minister Ursula von der Leyen.
At a celebration marking 75 years since the re‑establishment of the Foreign Office in Berlin, Steinmeier had remarked that Germany’s foreign policy would not be more credible if violations of international law were not recognized as such. “We had to confront this in the Gaza war, and we must also confront it in the Iran war” the president said. “This war is indeed unlawful under international law – there is little doubt about that”.
