Wadephul Demands Iran Nuclear Renunciation as Ramstein Faces Troop Exit

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul demanded that Iran "fully and verifiably renounce nuclear weapons" and immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz, in a statement on X following a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghtschi. Wadephul framed the position as alignment with the United States; Araghtschi reported only that "regional and international developments were discussed." Trump told Truth Social that he would review Iran's proposal to end the war but doubted it would be acceptable: "I can't imagine that it will be acceptable," he wrote, adding that Tehran had not yet paid a "sufficiently high price." Asked in West Palm Beach about resuming attacks, he did not rule it out. Iranian Vice Foreign Minister Kasem Gharibabadi told ambassadors in Tehran that Iran was "ready for both options" — diplomacy or confrontation — and that "the ball is now in the US court." Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Niksad announced legislation to place the Strait of Hormuz under full military authority, with transit fees and a ban on Israel-linked ships: "We will not give up our rights in the strait."

The arms-sale ledger filled in alongside. The State Department approved over $4 billion in Patriot missile-defence systems to Qatar on an emergency basis, citing the Iran war, and over $8.6 billion in additional sales to Israel, Kuwait and the UAE — packages that still require Congressional confirmation. Israel, separately, bought two new fighter squadrons — F-35s and F-15IAs — for several billion shekels; Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Iran war had demonstrated the air force's "decisive role" and that capabilities must be "expanded to ensure Israel's edge." The Israeli military damaged a building at a "religious site" in the village of Jarun in southern Lebanon during operations against Hezbollah; the French Catholic aid organisation L'Œuvre d'Orient identified it as a Salvatorian convent and condemned a "deliberate act of destruction." Israel's Foreign Ministry said the site was "intact and safe." Iran executed two men convicted of spying for Israel — one accused of photographing military and security sites for Mossad during the June 2025 twelve-day war, the other of passing intelligence on "religious and provincial figures" and on the Natanz nuclear area.

The cost of Trump's other Germany decision began to land locally. Ramstein Mayor Ralf Hechler (CDU) warned that the planned withdrawal of 5,000 troops within six to twelve months would deliver a "fatal" blow to his region: 10,000–12,000 people, including families, would leave; the US presence generates more than $2 billion a year in wages, rents and contracts, and about 2,300 regional residents are employed by the US military. Hechler pointed to Pirmasens and Zweibrücken as towns that never recovered from previous US base closures: "Wenn die Wirtschaftskraft einmal weg ist, kommt sie meist nie wieder." There were no signs yet of partial withdrawal in Ramstein itself; construction of the new $1.59 billion US military hospital in Weilerbach, which will replace Landstuhl, continues. As of mid-April some 86,000 US troops are stationed in Europe, roughly 39,000 of them in Germany.

Hormuz arrived in German agriculture too. SKW Stickstoffwerke, Germany's largest urea producer, is running its 220-hectare Wittenberg plant — founded in 1915 and served by a 23 km internal rail network — at full capacity, after the closure of the strait removed about a third of global fertiliser flow. Spokesperson Christopher Profitlich told AFP the crisis showed "sea routes can collapse." The company expects revenue up 10–20 percent this year, but CEO Carsten Franzke insisted SKW was "not a war profiteer" and might only break even after soaring energy costs: about 80 percent of production is gas-fired and gas prices have doubled since 28 February. SKW now imports gas from Norway, the Netherlands and the United States. Farmer Gerhard Geywitz in Baden-Württemberg said fertiliser prices have jumped 50 percent since the war began, and that he could not pass that on while world cereal prices remained stable: "We've decided to stock up now, before prices become exorbitant." The German Fertiliser Producers' Association (BVDM) warned that "without local producers and competitive farming, food security in Europe is seriously threatened"; Franzke has asked for a review of the EU's carbon-trading scheme to ease pressure, which the European Commission said it was examining.

Domestic politics filled in below. An INSA poll for Bild am Sonntag put AfD on 28 percent, ahead of the CDU/CSU bloc on 24 percent; SPD held at 14, the Greens rose to 13 and the Left stood at 11. Fifty-eight percent of respondents expect the CDU/CSU–SPD coalition to collapse before its 2029 term ends; 24 percent expect it to last; three-quarters were dissatisfied with the government's performance, against 16 percent rating it positively. Chancellor Friedrich Merz was sworn in on 6 May 2025, just under a year ago. Ifo Institute president Clemens Fuest warned in Bild that Germany faces a 2026 recession if Trump's announced 25 percent EU auto tariff escalates into a full trade war; the cap negotiated last July between Trump and Ursula von der Leyen at 15 percent has not yet been ratified by the EU and is not expected to clear until June 2026. Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer (CSU) separately proposed a full tax exemption for biofuels, arguing that larger farm machinery will keep relying on combustion engines and that domestic biofuel production would reduce fossil-fuel imports.