GERMANY PERSPECTIVE

Berlin, May 12, 2026. Tagesschau headlined soberly but directly this Monday: 'USA and Iran mutually reject each other's demands'. Between the lines of the German public broadcaster's live blog, one sentence drew attention: a UN representative warned that the Hormuz closure risks, by blocking fertilizer deliveries, triggering 'a severe humanitarian crisis' in agricultural regions dependent on these products. An angle nearly absent from Anglophone media, more focused on Brent.

Deutsche Welle dedicated several reports to what the Iran war is concealing: the human rights situation inside the country. In 2025, the NGO Iran Human Rights, founded by Norwegian-Iranian researcher Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, recorded at least 1,639 executions — a 68% increase over the previous year, averaging four to five per day. Since the latest conflict began in February 2026, this dynamic has intensified. Political prisoners, protesters and people accused of espionage are being executed almost daily. International coverage, absorbed by nuclear issues and tankers, leaves this picture in the shadows.

On the diplomatic front, DW reports that Qatar is playing a pivot role often underestimated. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani chained calls with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey and Kuwait. He also met US Vice President JD Vance, Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff. Doha 'fully supports' Pakistani mediation while ensuring a parallel backstage presence — a dual presence that makes Qatar a leading diplomatic actor in a crisis playing out behind closed doors.

In France and the United Kingdom, information circulated quietly but caught the attention of Berlin strategists: Paris and London have begun military consultations on a plan to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Such a European operation, if it materializes, would represent an unprecedented continental military commitment in this crisis. It would also pose a fundamental question for Germany, still wrestling with its own rearmament debates in the Ukrainian context: how far is Berlin willing to go in a conflict that directly affects its economy (rising energy costs for its companies) but remains geographically distant?