Federal government calls in crisis staff
Following the killing of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyah and subsequent Iranian retaliation threats, the German government has convened its crisis response team. "The crisis response team of the federal government has just met to discuss the situation in the Middle East," a spokesperson for the Foreign Office confirmed on Wednesday afternoon. The team had already met on Friday and Monday and is now reconvening "in light of last night's events."
Iranian media reported that Haniyah died early Wednesday morning (02:00 local time, 00:30 CET) in an airstrike on a residential building for war veterans in northern Tehran. Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian organization, stated that he was killed in his Tehran residence after attending the inauguration of new Iranian President Massoud Peschian. Hamas described the incident as a "Zionist attack" and, like Iran, threatened retaliation.
"we have noted the report that the head of the political bureau in Iran has been killed," said government spokesperson Wolfgang Büchner. The German government has "no independent information" on the matter, but it is clear that "the entire region is in a highly dangerous situation."
The German government is using all diplomatic channels to prevent escalation and a regional conflagration. Büchner emphasized, "We call on all actors to exercise maximum restraint. The logic of mutual retaliation is a dead end." It is now important to "keep a cool head."
The Federal government of Germany is actively involved in diplomatic efforts to prevent escalation, urging all actors to exercise maximum restraint. Any retaliation from Iran or Hamas, as threats have been made, could potentially involve the Federal government in mediating a resolution.
