Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), urged Germany and Europe to launch a dedicated Middle‑East initiative in response to the US‑Israel‑led conflict with Iran. He warned that reacting in a “stubborn” manner to President Donald Trump’s war will unnecessarily provoke the U.S. leader, and instead called for a “security framework” for the post‑Iranian war era.
Ischinger suggested that Europe collaborate with Turkey and neighboring Arab and Asian states to build this framework. He cited the former Afghanistan Conference held on Bonn’s Petersberg hill as an example of a multilateral forum that could serve as a model-provided “Germany and Europe want to be taken seriously”.
The MSC chair also emphasized that this is “not our war”. Yet he admitted that the phrase underscores Europe’s strategic shrinking. “This is how Europe never again figures on the map of global powers” he said. While the war is not a European conflict, Ischinger implied that European interests are affected, just as they are in the war in Ukraine.
In a separate interview with the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” (RND), German Transatlantic coordinator Metin Hakverdi (SPD) called for “healthy self‑confidence” in relations with the United States. “We do not always have to agree with the U.S. president” he said. Hakverdi agreed that the war is not Europe’s battle but reiterated that it matters to Germany, especially for maintaining free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. He proposed diplomatic engagement and industrial cooperation-such as air‑defence collaboration with Gulf states-to protect German interests.
