German politicians across party lines have raised alarms over potential terror threats after the Iranian daily Hamshahri published a graphic calling for retaliation against Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other Western leaders, including Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, Emmanuel Macron, Giorgia Meloni, and Keir Starmer.
CDU lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter warned that Iran's regime is planning targeted killings and attacks in Germany and across the West. Green party politician Konstantin von Notz said the listing almost certainly occurred with the approval or direct instruction of Iran's leadership, though he noted no immediate new threat to the chancellor personally. SPD interior affairs spokesman Sebastian Fiedler described the situation as an elevated risk environment.
Marc Henrichmann, chair of the parliamentary intelligence oversight committee, cautioned that Iranian intelligence services are likely to carry out operations in Europe, with disposable proxies as the primary focus. Von Notz added that Iran's conduct has posed a serious threat to Germany, its institutions, and Jewish and Israeli citizens for months.