Merkel: Iran must recognise Israel’s existence

Even though Iran has agreed to a landmark deal curbing its nuclear activities, relations can only fully normalise when it recognises the existence of Israel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday. Speaking at the side of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Merkel told reporters after a meeting of the two countries’ Cabinets that she’s “made very clear” that “there cannot be a normal, friendly relationship with Iran so long as the existence of Israel is not recognised.” 

Ahead of the sixth such meeting, normally held annually but postponed last year after violence in Israel kept Netanyahu at home, Germany’s foreign minister said the situation in the Palestinian territories isn’t sustainable in the long term. In an op-ed for Bild newspaper, Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned the near-daily street attacks by Palestinians that have killed 27 Israelis as “despicable terror.”  He stressed Germany’s view that only serious negotiations aimed at a fair, two-state solution can offer hope of peace for Israel and the Palestinians.