BERLIN (Reuters) -German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul had to change his trip in the Middle East, dropping a stop in Israel, after the country launched a barrage of strikes across Iran earlier on Friday. Speaking in Cairo after talks with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty, Wadephul said that he would travel from Egypt to Saudi […]
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German foreign minister alters Middle East trip after Israel strikes Iran
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BERLIN (Reuters) -German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul had to change his trip in the Middle East, dropping a stop in Israel, after the country launched a barrage of strikes across Iran earlier on Friday.
Speaking in Cairo after talks with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty, Wadephul said that he would travel from Egypt to Saudi Arabia for further talks on Saturday.
He initially had planned to visit Jordan, Lebanon and Syria as well. The foreign ministry left open on Friday if he would still make stops at those locations.
Israel said it attacked nuclear facilities and missile factories and killed a swathe of military commanders in what could be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.
Wadephul said earlier on Friday that no one benefits from further escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran and called for all parties to return to the negotiating table.
The German foreign ministry also issued a warning to its citizens against travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories, saying on its website that “Israel is still formally in a state of war.”
The ministry added that German citizens currently in Gaza and the West Bank should leave those territories, if possible.
(Reporting by Alexander Ratz, Miranda Murray and Friederike Heine, editing by Thomas Seythal)