GERMANY PERSPECTIVE

Berlin places UN Secretary-General António Guterres's warning at the center of its coverage — a typically German reflex where the multilateral framework takes precedence over bilateral power dynamics. Guterres warns against strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure, and German press translates this warning into precise juridical terms: Additional Protocols to Geneva, international humanitarian law, proportionality of strikes, distinction between military and civilian objectives. Germany, which built its post-war identity on 'never again,' reads Trump's statement — 'an entire civilization will die' — not as hyperbole but as a dangerous rhetorical precedent normalizing annihilation language in contemporary diplomatic discourse. Strikes on Kharg Island and Jubail are covered with energy-sector precision only a country traumatized by dependence can produce. Germany reorganized its energy dependence in emergency after Russian gas cutoff in 2022, moving from Nord Stream pipeline to LNG in months. Four years later, Gulf escalation threatens a second supply crisis. Oil at $150 directly hits German auto industry (Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes) and chemicals (BASF), already weakened by rampant deindustrialization. Berlin doesn't ask whether Trump is bluffing. Berlin calculates how many months of strategic reserves remain if the Strait of Hormuz closes, and whether LNG terminals built to offset Russian gas can be converted to absorb surplus energy demand. The answer is no — and this silence is what makes German coverage so anxious beneath its juridical facade.