German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul landed in Israel on Tuesday, paying Israel the first top-level diplomatic visit since the start of “Operation Roaring Lion” on Feb. 28, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hosted Wadephul, and the two men visited the site of the March 1 Iranian missile attack in Beit Shemesh, where nine people were killed. They met with the families of the victims, the Israeli Ministry said.
“Our joint operation with the U.S. against the Iranian terror regime is preventing nuclear proliferation and a nuclear arms race in the world’s most dangerous region,” Sa’ar wrote.
The operation, the Israeli foreign minister said during a joint press conference, was launched after intelligence indicated Tehran was preparing to move its nuclear and ballistic-missile programs to deeply buried facilities that would have been immune to airstrikes.
“Not acting was far more dangerous than acting, despite the risks involved,” Sa’ar said. Iran’s ongoing attacks against countries across the region demonstrate the danger posed by the Iranian regime even without nuclear weapons.
He cited examples of what he said was Iran’s record of sponsoring terrorism in other countries, including Germany, in attacks against synagogues in Bochum and Essen in 2022. He accused Iran of recruiting criminal gangs across Europe to target dissidents, Jewish communities and Israeli diplomats.
Sa’ar accused Lebanon of failing to dismantle Hezbollah despite commitments made under a November 2024 ceasefire. He also criticized international calls for Israel to accept Hezbollah’s presence along its northern border.
“We will welcome any volunteers from the international community willing to dismantle Hezbollah. Until now, nobody—not even the UNIFIL force—has done anything significant to solve the problem,” Sa’ar said, referring to the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon.
Sa’ar praised Germany for leading efforts in the European Union to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and urged countries to take what he called the next moral step of cutting diplomatic ties with the Iranian regime.
Sa’ar thanked German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his support for Israel and his commitment to combating antisemitism, and expressed appreciation to Wadephul for what he described as Germany’s friendship and solidarity with Israel.
