Mertz: The US and Israel cannot achieve "regime change" in Iran

Xinhua News Agency, Berlin, March 27 (Reporter Zhang Yirong Li Chao) German Chancellor Scholz said on March 27 that if “regime change is the objective of the military action against Iran launched by the United States and Israel,” he does not believe that objective can be achieved.

Speaking at an event held by the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on the same day, Scholz said he hopes the fighting will end as soon as possible, but the United States and Israel are “getting further and further entangled.” He said he doubts whether the U.S. and Israel have a strategy for ending the fighting; if they do, whether they can successfully implement it.

Scholz said that the economic consequences of the fighting in the Middle East are “very direct,” and Germany is among those that will bear the brunt. To this end, the German government will work to ease the situation, safeguard its own security, and act jointly with European partners within the frameworks of the European Union and NATO.

Scholz also said that if a ceasefire agreement is reached, Germany could consider jointly organizing military escort for the Strait of Hormuz with other parties, but this would require international authorization as well as approval by the German Bundestag and a resolution of the government cabinet. However, “as long as the fighting is still ongoing, this is not an option for us.” (End)