German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday, "I was very pleased to accept our embassy's invitation to take part in Israel's 70th anniversary celebrations. Germany has a genuine desire to take part in and assist in all the major issues that plague the world, and part of the reason for my visit is the desire to know what is bothering the citizens of Israel."
The president and the foreign minister discussed at length the expansion of the Iranian threat in the region in all its aspects and the various possibilities available to the free world in its ability to respond to this threat. Maas made it clear that Germany would not accept Iran's position calling for the destruction of the State of Israel and that Germany would not accept the existence of a nuclear Iran. He stressed that the State of Israel's concerns are taken with the seriousness and responsibility that is needed against the existing threats.