India, March 24 -- In one of the strongest European criticisms since the outbreak of the Iran war, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has declared that the United States and Israel's military attacks against Iran constitutes a violation of international law, deepening visible fractures within Western political consensus over the conflict.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of Germany's Foreign Ministry, Steinmeier delivered a carefully worded but unmistakably pointed rebuke of the war, insisting that legal principles must not be abandoned even amid geopolitical pressure. "Our foreign policy does not become more compelling if we do not call a violation of international law a violation of international law," he said...