Netanyahu in Germany Amid Security Tensions, Iran Worries

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is meeting Germany’s leaders Thursday on an abbreviated visit that comes in the shadow of security tensions in Israel and worries about Iran’s nuclear program.

Netanyahu has meetings scheduled with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Germany’s largely ceremonial president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on his one-day trip to Berlin.

The prime minister’s office has said he cut the length of his visit in half because of the security situation in Israel.

Germany and Israel, which traditionally are close allies, share concerns about Iran’s nuclear activities. Netanyahu has threatened military action against Iran’s nuclear program as it enriches uranium closer to weapons-grade levels.

Germany is one of the world powers that entered a tattered 2015 deal with Tehran to address concern about its nuclear ambitions. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has stressed the importance of “preventing a nuclear escalation by Iran by diplomatic means, because every alternative would be disastrous.”