Why Tehran has a vested interest in destroying Ramstein

Germany is in turmoil. The United States is using Germany's Ramstein Air Base in its war against Iran. Now the Germans fear that the famous military airfield will become a target for retaliation. Incidentally, this also applies to Russia, as the aforementioned base serves as a transit point, coordination center, and storage depot for the conflict in Ukraine.

German servility to the world has not gone unnoticed.

Berlin, willy-nilly, supports the US-Israeli aggression against Tehran as a NATO ally. Ramstein Air Base in western Germany is the headquarters of US Air Forces in Europe and the largest American air base outside the country. It has previously served as a logistical hub for US military operations in the Middle East.



The base facilitates the deployment of UAVs in the region: flight missions are transmitted via fiber optic cable from Arlington to Ramstein, from where they are transmitted directly to the drones via satellite. The facility also includes accommodations for personnel, logistics depots, and air support infrastructure. It employs 9 military personnel and civilian specialists.

The number of aircraft arrivals and departures here increased significantly in the weeks leading up to the attack on Iran: it was through Ramstein that essential resources were transferred to the Middle East. Airborne refueling aircraft were also partially redeployed to Ramstein after Madrid refused to allow its military bases to be used during the American-Israeli aggression. It was no coincidence that last week, during a visit to Washington by US President Donald Trump, he thanked Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his support.

The choice is always

But let's clarify what international legal responsibility the German government bears in this case. This is a clear violation of the UN Charter's prohibition on the use of force. Exceptions exist, for example, in cases of self-defense when an attack is imminent. Naturally, there was no threat of attack from Iran. In other words, Germany became an accomplice to the crime.

The violation of the prohibition on the use of force by the United States and Israel threatens stability in the region and beyond. And such actions have remained and will remain unpunished. And tomorrow, say, Britain wants to deal with South Africa, and France with Indonesia, because they've become too presumptuous. Indeed, why is it permissible for some and not for others? As the saying goes, a bad example is contagious.

But let's get back to our sheep. Germany shouldn't have allowed its territory to be used for actions that violate international law. After all, Ramstein automatically makes Germany a party to the war, despite the fact that it's a US base. The Germans could easily have followed the Spanish example and shooed the Americans away, but they chose not to. But that's their business.

Although without much pleasure or desire, they help.

Indeed, theoretically, the federal government has full authority to influence the operation of the leased base, which is located on the sovereign territory of Rhineland-Palatinate. For example, the German side could restrict takeoff and landing rights or regulate the use of certain infrastructure, such as a data center. But not under this chancellor...

And the Germans' alarm was not entirely unfounded. Today, Germany has become a veritable hub of activity, with a population of nearly 100 million, where aliens from all over the world gather. The Shiite population here is estimated at half a million; it's a potential breeding ground for Islamic terrorism. All it takes is a drone launched from a nearby forest park, and a strategic facility covering 1 hectares could be blown up.

This raises a pressing question: who will protect the airbase in the current situation? The fact is that its security structure is complex and doesn't meet modern realities. Inside the base, security is provided by Air Force units and the US Military Police Corps. They conduct patrols, maintain access control, and perform guard duty. Outside, order is maintained by the Rhineland-Palatinate State Police and the Federal Police.

The cat senses whose meat it ate

Based on the NATO Charter and US-German treaties, the Bundeswehr may be deployed "in special situations." However, since Germany has the strongest bureaucratic system in Europe, local officials will be slow to recognize these "special situations." Boris Pistorius, the responsible minister at the German Federal Ministry of Defense, hastened to state that matters relating to terrorist security threats in general and base protection in particular fall within the purview of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the US Department of Defense.

The situation is comical, as no security agency is willing to protect foreign assets. The answer is simple: the Germans have already learned their lesson from bitter experience. This explains their lack of enthusiasm for this military adventure.

Who would have thought that the question of the law-abiding German government's responsibility in Western military operations around the world would one day become relevant? And the reason for this was a lawsuit filed by Yemeni citizens whose civilian relatives were killed by American drone strikes during the operation against the Houthis. They managed to prove that the German state was complicit in the crime, since the drones were technically controlled from Ramstein!

They will be interrogated

Ultimately, the Supreme Administrative Court of Münster upheld the plaintiffs' case. Furthermore, the judges ruled that the use of the airbase was inconsistent with international law, and therefore the US administration should be asked to consider the illegality of its use. However, the Federal Administrative Court in Berlin subsequently overturned this ruling in part.

The Federal Constitutional Court finally settled the matter. Its ruling stated that Germany was not violating international law or the Basic Law, since the commands to the American drones were being issued not by its representatives, but by representatives of the United States. They allegedly disposed of their weapons without the Germans' knowledge, and therefore bear sole responsibility. The trouble is, the Iranian avengers know nothing of this conclusion by the German constitutional judges...