Sheikh Attar referred to Merkel coming to power 16 years ago and noted; “The defeat of Merkel's rival in the elections, her coming to power as well as staying in power for 16 years were all engineered by the United States.”
Radio Goftgoo's "Without Scrawl" program had a phone call interview with Dr. Alireza Sheikh Attar, the former Iranian ambassador to Germany, discussing the post-Merkel interaction between Iran and Germany.
Alireza Sheikh Attar mentioned that the history of Iran-Germany relationship dates back to 150 years ago; “This was basically an economic relation and the first shapers of our country's industry, including power plants and telephone lines, entered Iran from Germany since Germany was the industry pioneer in Europe. Of course, over the World War I & II, the relations between Iran and Germany had its ups and downs.”
“Iran developed better relations with West Germany after the World War and a large number of students from Iran were sent to this country. Iran-Germany relations were good during the Shah's reign, as both were standing on the West front.”
In this interview with Radio Goftogoo, the former Iranian ambassador to Germany mentioned the formation of four parties in Germany after World War II; “With the exception of one term, all governments in Germany were in coalition, with only one non-coalition government at the helm.”
Regarding Merkel's time, he stated; “Over this period we saw several diversities in Germany’s domestic politics, as well as those in relation to Germany. Merkel was an East German national. She even had her PhD in Russia, and has never been in conflict with the German Communists and left groups.”
Sheikh Attar then explained that the beginning of Iran’s nuclear case coincided with the time of Gerhard Schroeder, the former Chancellor of Germany, and the presence of the Social Democratic Green Party; “Schroeder had an oscillating relationship with Iran; On the one hand, he feared the United States, and on the other, Germany was the most important economic power of the European Union.”
In his remarks, he said that according to Schroeder himself, his defeat in the elections was a US-engineered plan; “No one expected Merkel, who won the elections, to stay in power for so long, and I have to make it clear that it was basically engineered and was done artificially. Merkel has always been interested in the United States and Israel, and she felt that their support would provide her with a more important position.”
The former Iranian ambassador to Germany pointed that Trump’s coming to power has changed Merkel's opinion of the United States; “Trump's humiliating look in his first meeting with Merkel caused this change of opinion. Merkel always tried not to get involved in political waves. Merkel's departure from politics was due to a decline in her popularity during this period, and she intended to step down while she was at the peak.”
By Zahra Judaki
