Despite Germany’s verbal support to stand with Israel, its foreign policy in the last years and months has been designed to restrain Israel and maintain good relations with Arab neighbors and even Iran. “The ‘peace power’ Germany has ignored or played down the totalitarian character of the Islamic Republic of Iran for years,” Germany’s Focus warned on April 16.

In 2023, Germany exported goods worth around €1.2 billion to Iran, making Germany Iran’s most important trading partner in Europe. The electrical engineering, machinery and chemical products likely serve dual-use in Iran for civilian and military purposes.

In January and February, German exports to Iran increased by 22.1 percent compared to the same period last year. This means that after Iran’s proxies attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Germany increased its shipments to Iran.

After Iran’s direct attack on Israel on April 13, Germany professed solidarity with Israel but urged restraint. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged Israel not to respond militarily to Iran and not to strike Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, where Iran has military proxies.

“Is this really crisis diplomacy?” Focus asked. “Annalena Baerbock is flying to Israel to prevent the Netanyahu government from responding militarily to the Iranian attack. … Baerbock recommends: Israel, the attacked state, should do nothing.”

Israel trusts Germany as a partner, but should it?

“Iran is a religious dictatorship that oppresses, tortures and murders women if they even want to take off their headscarves,” Focus noted concerning Iran’s domestic policies. But Iran has also exported its terror and “built a ring around Israel of enemies of the Jewish people who have only one goal: to destroy Israel because they want to destroy the Jews. The Islamic Republic is probably the worst racist system of government in the world.”

Is it a coincidence that the very nation that once wanted to destroy all Jewish life and held the title “the worst racist system” is now supporting a nation with the same goals?

Instead of restraining Iran, the international community has awarded it with the presidency of the United Nations Human Rights Council Social Forum and the presidency of the UN Conference on Disarmament. At the same time, it did little to nothing to prevent Iran from developing the nuclear bomb.

“Iran is part of an evil axis of dictatorial regimes that wants to unhinge the world order,” Focus explained. Germany used to be part of an “evil axis of dictatorial regimes.” Today, it is supporting a new alliance. For years, it has emboldened Russia and even enabled it through trade and diplomacy to attack Ukraine. Iran is also supporting Russia by supplying it with drones.

And even as China increases its aggression toward Taiwan and supports Iran, Germany holds tight to its strong trade relations. In 2023, China was Germany’s most important trade partner for the eighth year in a row. On the day Iran attacked Israel, the German chancellor was visiting China to strengthen these relations.

Russia, China and Iran all have different ideologies and goals, and so does Germany—but they also have common goals. Why is Germany in the middle of an axis of evil that stands against all “Western” principles?

Germany’s support for Iran has created a Frankenstein monster that it cannot control. Iran is not only attacking Israel, it is disturbing international trade that greatly affects Germany’s trade with China. Iran threatens Christian access to Jerusalem, one of the most holy sites to the Catholic Church. Iran also sponsors terrorism that is costing German lives. It even develops weapons that endanger German cities.

Germany is well aware that its Iran policy could escalate at any moment. That’s why Germany participates in a European Union initiative to safeguard the Red Sea. That’s why it buys Israel’s Arrow 3 missile system, stations troops in the Middle East, and forges alliances with Arab countries that oppose Iran.

To understand what is happening, we must understand that Germany’s goal isn’t the creation of an Iranian stronghold in the Middle East. Rather, Germany itself is seeking control of the region as it has for centuries (learn more by reading The Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy). In this struggle, it often forms alliances of convenience.

We saw this even in the last century. As the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs noted: “With the encouragement of their German allies, the Ottoman Army in Palestine began their preparations in 1914 to attack British positions along the Suez Canal.” During World War ii, Germany supported the Palestinian opposition to British goals.

But a study of the history of the Holy Roman Empire, which includes the Crusades, shows that Germany’s goal is neither Iranian, Turkish or Palestinian control of Jerusalem. Rather, the Holy Roman Empire has sought to overthrow the existing powers to establish its own control. Could this also be Germany’s goal today?

Bible prophecy details this centuries-old struggle and notes how it will end. During the time of Daniel 11:40-45, Jerusalem is in possession of the Jewish people, but two powers—the king of the north (a German-led European power) and the king of the south (an Iranian-led Islamic power)—are fighting over the city. Both want Jewish rule over the city to end, but they clash over who will possess it thereafter.

Secular history, current world affairs and Bible prophecy should be a strong warning to the Jewish people and our whole world. They show us that religious wars are not just history and that we have no solutions to these conflicts unless we turn to God.

Read Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s article “Is the Red Sea Crisis About to Fulfill Bible Prophecy?” to understand how Daniel 11:40-45 explain current world affairs.