'No reason to celebrate' US-Iran agreement, say Germany's Greens

The ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran is "no reason to celebrate," the leader of Germany's opposition Greens said on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a framework agreement to halt the fighting.

"It is, of course, good that the guns have now fallen silent, but in itself it is absurd that we should celebrate this as a success, or that Chancellor [Friedrich] Merz should celebrate it as a success," Brantner told broadcaster RTL.

"Ultimately, a war that was started by Trump has come to an end, and as a result we in the West are all worse off than we were at the start of the war," she added.

The winners of the agreement are the Iranian regime and China, Brantner said, criticizing Merz for "currying favour" with Trump.

With regard to a parliamentary mandate for the German Navy to participate in a mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz, Brantner said the Greens would not issue a blank cheque.

"Is there a UN mandate for this? Who is actually supposed to carry it out? For whom? Against whom? What exactly is the deal? There are so many unanswered questions," she said.

At the Group of Seven (G7) summit in the French spa town of Évian, Merz reaffirmed Germany's willingness to take part in a military mission to secure the key waterway. At the same time, he pointed out that the prerequisites have not yet all been met and that the legal basis still needs to be clarified.

Two Navy ships earmarked for a possible deployment are already en route to the Red Sea, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday.