Germany stands firmly against a military strike on Iran despite Washington's recent military threat against the Middle East country.  

US President George W. Bush said on January 17 that he could not rule out military action against Iran if Iran was not more forthcoming about its suspected nuclear program. US Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice later also threatened to submit Iran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council.

As one of the "Big Three" in the European Union (EU), namely Germany, France and Britain, that have negotiated with Iran on behalf of the EU, Germany is opposed to Washington's hard line.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Monday that the efforts to find a political solution must continue and "it should not come to military intervention."

Germany's stance has been consistent and without surprise as it conforms to the interests of Germany.

Germany and most of its EU allies worry that military strikes on Iran will cause chaos in the oil-rich Gulf region and consequently harm Europe's security and stability.

What has happened in Iraq, one of Iran's neighbors, has deepened Germany's worries. Nearly two years have passed since the US-led coalition forces started the military operation in Iraq, the security situation in Iraq has shown no signs of improvement.

With more than 1,100 US soldiers killed, frequent explosions, kidnappings of foreigners and violence between coalition forces and local people, Washington's efforts to reestablish order and security in the Arab country have failed to bring about satisfactory results.

If Iraq's story is re-told in Iran, Europe's stability and security may be affected by such consequences as illegal immigration, dirty bombs and shaky oil prices, all of which Germany is unwilling to see.

Also, as a major EU power that prefers multilateralism to unilateralism, Germany hopes its peaceful efforts to resolve the Iran nuclear issue will improve its international status, said analysts in Berlin.

And conflicts and turmoil will harm the growing economic and trade ties between Germany and Iran.

In the first 10 months of 2004, Germany's exports to Iran rose 30 percent to 3 billion euros (about US$3.9 billion), according to the data released by the German Chamber of Industry and Trade. "Without the nuclear program dispute, the scale would be larger," said Jochen Clausnitzer, the Middle East expert of the chamber.

German companies such as Siemens, Man and the Post have large engagements in several commercial projects in Iran, said German daily Financial Times Deutschland. They will not withdraw despite growing military threat from the United States and many other joint projects are under negotiations, said the paper.

(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2005)