The largest opposition party in Germany has called for a dramatic overhaul of the country's approach to Iran. A current frontrunner in polls, the Christian Democratic Union is pushing for a tougher stance, including measures to weaken the Iranian regime and advocating for the European Union to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
The Iranian regime's long-standing record of funding global terrorism, destabilizing the Middle East, and threatening Israel's existence with support from Hamas and Hezbollah has been met with a policy of appeasement during the tenure of Angela Merkel, who led the CDU. Now, her own party appears poised for a significant policy shift.
A position paper on Iran, drafted by CDU lawmakers, advocates for a fundamental change in Berlin's s approach to Tehran, asserting that under its Islamist leadership, the Islamic Republic has become an unequivocal enemy of Germany across all domains. The time has come for Germany to act decisively and radically alter its stance toward Iran.
The paper outlines a strategy to weaken and isolate the regime to end its brutal oppression of its own people and mitigate threats to regional and global stability. Key proposals include pushing for the EU to designate the IRGC as a terror group and forming an anti-Iran coalition with moderate Arab states, including signatories of the Abraham Accords and Saudi Arabia.
Addressing Iran's nuclear ambitions, the CDU lawmakers call for a halt to the program. They propose that Germany, France, Britain, and the United States, in collaboration with other partners, develop a coherent and actionable strategy to prevent Iran's nuclear armament. The document advocates for imposing additional sanctions on Tehran and more rigorously enforcing existing commercial sanctions against countries that aid in their circumvention.
The policy paper also recommends taking action against clerics who persecute women in Iran and proposes banning any institution in Germany that serves as an information source or influence channel for the Iranian regime. As an immediate step, it calls for the closure of the Islamic Center in Hamburg.
The IRGC is currently designated as a terrorist group by Israel, the United States, Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Sweden.
