German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks of rift with the US and questions Iran war legality, leading member of the youth wing of AfD resigns over use of Nazi slogan, major nuclear waste transfer begins and more news on Wednesday March 25th.
Today’s top story: US-Israeli war on Iran is ‘breach of international law’: German president
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke on Tuesday of a “deep rift” with traditional ally the United States and said the US-Israeli war on Iran was a “breach of international law”.
In unusually strong comments, the German head of state said that just as there was no going back from Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, “there will be no going back to before January 20th, 2025”, when US President Donald Trump entered the White House for a second time.
“The rift is too deep and the trust in American power politics has been lost, not only among our allies but… worldwide,” he said at an event to mark the 75th anniversary of the German foreign ministry.
Although Steinmeier’s role is largely ceremonial, his words carry weight in Germany, which has not officially condemned the war against Iran.
Steinmeier, a former foreign minister, said: “Our foreign policy does not become any more convincing simply because we do not call a breach of international law a breach of international law.”
He stressed that the US-Israel war on Iran was, “in my view, in breach of international law”.
Major nuclear waste transfer across North Rhine-Westphalia begins
The controversial transport of nuclear waste through North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has started.
The first convoy carrying a Castor container reached the interim storage facility in Ahaus in the Münsterland region at around 2am on Wednesday, some four hours after setting off from Jülich in the Rhineland.
A total of 152 Castor containers with nuclear waste are to be relocated in total.
Around 2,400 police officers were involved in the large-scale operation. Authorities kept the exact route confidential in advance, though the convoy ultimately travelled across several major motorways in NRW.
Officials reported that the first transfer went smoothly and ahead of schedule.
The relocation follows years of legal disputes and political disagreement over how to handle the waste.
Several anti-nuclear groups protested against the planned operation, including in Jülich and Ahaus.
Criticism has also come from within the police force. In August 2025, Patrick Schlüter, head of the Police Union (GdP) in North Rhine-Westphalia, called the planned transport with police escorts a “pointless mammoth task”.
He argued politicians were shying away from the final disposal issue and simply moving nuclear waste from one interim storage facility to the next.
There are currently no final repositories in Germany in which radioactive waste can be safely stored for hundreds of thousands of years. Instead, there are 16 interim storage facilities, including the one in Ahaus.
Leading member of German far-right youth wing resigns over Nazi slogan
A leading member of the youth wing of far-right party Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) resigned on Tuesday over his use of a Nazi slogan, just months after the youth organisation was refounded.
Kevin Dorow, 27, who is a board member of Generation Germany (GD), stepped down following a row over his use of the slogan “youth must be led by youth”, which was used by the Nazis’ Hitler Youth movement.
According to German media, the leadership of the AfD national party had launched an investigation into Dorow, accusing him of using language “close to National Socialism”.
An AfD spokesman said Dorow was “resigning from all positions within the party and will not be allowed to hold office in the party for two years”.
Germany ‘running on empty’ as investment hits post-reunification low
German firms, the state and private individuals invested less overall in construction, machinery, equipment and infrastructure last year than at any time since German reunification in 1990, new figures show.
The so-called net fixed capital formation ratio stood at minus 0.23 per cent of GDP, according to figures from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Statistical Office. The data was requested and analysed by Left Party MP Cem Ince.
The data, which is available to DPA, shows a decades-long downward trend in investment relative to GDP.
Archive photo shows an ICE Intercity Express high-speed train of the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn leaves the main train station in Munich, southern Germany. (Photo by Christof STACHE / AFP)
Social and economic policy expert Ince said: “Germany is running on empty. Dilapidated schools, potholed roads, an infrastructure in decline. For years, there has been too little investment in our country.”
The Cologne-based Institute of German Economy (IW) is also observing the ongoing weakness in investment with concern. “In terms of gross fixed capital formation, we have been seeing a negative effect, adjusted for inflation, for years,” IW Managing Director Hubertus Bardt told DPA.
While increased public investment may provide support, it is unlikely to spark a broader recovery without a shift in business sentiment.
Germany’s Lufthansa extends flight suspensions
German aviation giant Lufthansa has extended flight suspensions to destinations across the Middle East due to the war.
Lufthansa – which operates Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines and has acquired a stake in Italy’s ITA – said all regional services were cancelled until the end of April due to the “volatile situation”.
In addition, most of its carriers had suspended flights to several destinations, including Tehran, Beirut, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, until October 24th, Europe’s biggest airline group said late Monday.
Services to Dubai and Tel Aviv were cancelled until May 31st.
“The Lufthansa group is continuously monitoring and assessing the situation in the Middle East,” it said in a statement.
Leadership questions hang over SPD
Germany’s SPD continues to face mounting internal pressure after its election defeat in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Youth leader Philipp Türmer on Tuesday questioned the party’s leadership structure and warned the current course is “marching into the abyss”.
Türmer slammed the dual role of party leaders who also serve as ministers, urging Bärbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil to either make changes or step aside. He also called for action to introduce progressive reforms such as higher taxes on top earners.
Senior SPD figures, including Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, have pushed back, rejecting leadership changes and warning against internal infighting. Party officials argue the focus should remain on policy.
READ ALSO: Merz cheers victory in Rhineland-Palatinate as Social Democrats mourn ‘catastrophic’ result
Germany’s social democratic SPD party co-leaders Baerbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil give a statement at their party’s headquarters in Berlin, one day after state elections in the southwestern state of Rhineland-Palatinate. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)
Two suspected of spying for Russia arrested in Germany and Spain
A man and woman accused of spying for Moscow on a drone supplier in Germany have been arrested, officials said Tuesday, the latest case of alleged Russian espionage amid the Ukraine war.
Berlin, one of Kyiv’s key military backers, has faced a flood of suspected espionage, sabotage and disinformation plots directed by Russia since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.
In the latest case, the man, a Ukrainian national partially identified as Sergey N., was arrested in Alicante, Spain on February 17th by local police under a European arrest warrant, German federal prosecutors said.
The woman, a Romanian national identified as Alla S., was arrested on Monday in Germany, they said.
With reporting from AFP and DPA
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