Visiting German FM says Iran’s missiles, proxies must be part of US-Iran talks

By Nava Freiberg

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7 July 2026, 5:52 pm

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Nava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, right, speaks during a joint press conference with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul in Jerusalem, July 7, 2026. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Visiting German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says Berlin will scrutinize any easing of sanctions on Iran, stressing that Tehran must be prevented from acquiring a nuclear weapon and that its ballistic missile program and support for regional terror proxies must also be addressed in the US-Iran negotiations.

“I believe there is a fairly aligned position here between Israel and Germany in these negotiations,” Wadephul says in German during a press conference with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, in response to a question from The Times of Israel on Berlin’s position regarding the US-Iran memorandum of understanding.

Wadephul stresses that Iran must never possess nuclear weapons, pointing to Europe’s renewal of the snapback mechanism and the introduction of new sanctions against Tehran last year.

“At some point, we as Europeans will have to be involved in the [US-Iran] negotiations, and we will look very carefully to ensure that sanctions are eased only when it is truly clear to us that safeguards have been put in place to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” Wadephul says.

He emphasizes that Tehran’s support for regional terror proxies and its ballistic missile program — key Israeli concerns not addressed in the MOU — will also need to be part of the US-Iran talks, adding that he expressed this to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a meeting last week.

“We have always made clear that Iran’s behavior in its regional neighborhood must be taken into account — its support for various terrorist organizations — not only Hezbollah, not only Hamas, also the Houthis. The Houthis endanger not only Israel, but also international sea routes and trade routes that Germany needs for Europe. That must be taken into account, and of course also Iran’s ballistic missile program, which can also threaten Europe,” Wadephul says.

These issues “should be included in the negotiations,” he says, while noting that “at this point, the negotiations have not yet really begun in substance.”