German MP calls for lifting arms embargo on Saudis

A lawmaker in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party says Germany should reconsider its ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia in the wake of the weekend attack on Saudi oil sites.

Juergen Hardt, parliamentary foreign policy spokesman for the Christian Democrats, tells media network RND that “a lifting of the export ban on defensive weapons systems is in our strategic interest” to help Saudi Arabia protect itself.

Germany rescinded arms export permits to Saudi Arabia last year in response to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Hardt also calls for a review of Germany’s Iran policy, saying “there is no clear evidence of direct Iranian aerial attacks on the Saudi refinery, but Iran’s close collaboration with the Yemeni Houthi militia is obvious.”

— AP