Among the peculiarities of the 2015 nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic is the involvement of Germany—the only party (aside from Iran itself) not a permanent member of the UN Security Council and without nuclear weapons of its own. Berlin, moreover, has consistently urged the rest of Europe to maintain the agreement despite the American withdrawal, and has worked to protect Tehran from additional sanctions. Matthias Küntzel explains why:

Many believe that the special German-Iranian relationship [stems from] German economic interests, but this is only a secondary aspect. In 2017, German exports to Iran comprised only about 0.2 percent of total German exports. . . . Other causes are more important, but less discussed.

For example, the historical dimension: Germany and Iran have been allied since the beginning of the last century; a relationship that began because Iran (then called Persia) required foreign technical support for the development of infrastructure and industry. . . . Between 1933 and 1941, the German share of Iranian imports rose from 11 percent to 43 percent, while the German share of Iranian exports rose from 19 percent to 47 percent. Another aspect of the Nazi period, which continues to be important in Iran, was pointed out in 1996 by Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani: “Our relations have always been good. Both [peoples] are of the Aryan race.”

West Germany revived these trade ties in the 1950s, and the relationship survived the fall of the shah in 1979. Since the 1990s, Berlin has sought to undermine U.S. efforts to restrain the Iranian nuclear program:

As states without nuclear weapons, Germany and Iran both share an interest in interpreting the Nonproliferation Treaty [loosely]. That is why Germany has always been in favor of conceding to Iran the right to enrich uranium. And that is also why . . . the extent of the danger posed by nuclear weapons in the hands of Shiite Islamists has hardly been mentioned in German public debates.

[But Germany’s] current relationship [with Iran] is based not on a rational consideration of interests but on nostalgia, illusion, and disregard for Israel’s survival. It is time to . . . support those who are rising up against the Iranian terrorist regime instead of the butchers within the regime. . . . Finally, the need for the country that was responsible for the Holocaust yesterday to stop courting the country that denies the Holocaust is long overdue.

Analyzing the recent direct Iranian attack on Israel, and Israel’s security situation more generally, Michael Oren looks to the 2015 agreement to restrain Iran’s nuclear program. That, and President Biden’s efforts to resurrect the deal after Donald Trump left it, are in his view the source of the current crisis:

Of the original motivations for the deal—blocking Iran’s path to the bomb and transforming Iran into a peaceful nation—neither remained. All Biden was left with was the ability to kick the can down the road and to uphold Barack Obama’s singular foreign-policy achievement.

In order to achieve that result, the administration has repeatedly refused to punish Iran for its malign actions:

Historians will survey this inexplicable record and wonder how the United States not only allowed Iran repeatedly to assault its citizens, soldiers, and allies but consistently rewarded it for doing so. They may well conclude that in a desperate effort to avoid getting dragged into a regional Middle Eastern war, the U.S. might well have precipitated one.

While America’s friends in the Middle East, especially Israel, have every reason to feel grateful for the vital assistance they received in intercepting Iran’s missile and drone onslaught, they might also ask what the U.S. can now do differently to deter Iran from further aggression. . . . Tehran will see this weekend’s direct attack on Israel as a victory—their own—for their ability to continue threatening Israel and destabilizing the Middle East with impunity.

Israel, of course, must respond differently. Our target cannot simply be the Iranian proxies that surround our country and that have waged war on us since October 7, but, as the Saudis call it, “the head of the snake.”