Opposition slams Gulf evacuation strategy

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has arrived in Washington for talks with President Donald Trump, with the widening war in the Middle East expected to dominate their meeting.

Three days after US and Israeli strikes on Iran, Merz is holding his second White House visit in 10 months. His first meeting with Trump was described as cordial, but the current talks come amid heightened tensions across the region.

Thirty minutes are scheduled in the Oval Office, followed by a working lunch, though such meetings often run longer. Since returning to office, Trump’s Oval Office appearances with foreign leaders have drawn attention, including tense exchanges with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa.

The conflict with Iran is set to be the central issue.  Trump and Hegseth have criticized European allies for what they see as limited support.

Merz has expressed understanding for the strikes but stopped short of full endorsement, warning that escalation carries risks and questioning whether external military action can trigger internal political change. He referenced past US interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya as cautionary examples.

Travel group TUI expects to bring back customers stranded in the Middle East within several days, its chief executive has said.

CEO Sebastian Ebel told broadcaster n-tv that the company plans to repatriate holidaymakers using partner airlines including Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad, with the first flights expected to depart later today, initially bound for Munich.

TUI-Fly aircraft are also on standby and will operate “as soon as we receive permission,” Ebel said.

He added that the company is in contact with nearly all affected customers, saying it has reached almost 100% of guests through its app.

The timeline for the return flights depends on the security situation, which Ebel said cannot be reliably predicted at this stage, though he expects the process to take several days.

Up to 30,000 customers travelling with German tour operators are believed to have been affected by flight cancellations as attacks on Iran and counterstrikes continue. The German shipowners’ association on Monday said 25 ships belonging to seven different companies were affected, leaving some 7,000 passengers unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for security reasons.

Police have warned of fraudulent flight rebooking hotlines after a woman in Lower Bavaria was scammed out of €2,500 (about $2,900).

Investigators said criminals are placing paid ads on search engines that direct travelers to fake service numbers posing as airlines or booking portals.

The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office advised consumers to obtain hotline numbers only from the official website of the airline or booking platform and not from online advertisements.

Travelers are urged not to respond to callback numbers or unfamiliar support links included in cancellation notices unless they have verified them. Booking changes should be made exclusively through a personal customer account.

If a supposed service employee requests remote access to a smartphone or computer, police say to end the call immediately, disconnect from the internet, and contact the bank.

Criticism has also come from the socialist Left Party, with foreign policy spokesperson Cansu Özdemir calling the government’s crisis communication on Gulf evacuations inadequate.

“With the current statement by Foreign Minister Wadephul that initially only older people, children, the sick and pregnant women are to be evacuated, the federal government is creating further uncertainty,” Özdemir she told the Funke media group.

In this situation, it was crucial to act calmly and prudently. “The government is failing to do so,” Özdemir added.

She called for plans to be presented as quickly as possible, outlining how an evacuation of all approximately 30,000 people can be carried out.

On Monday, Wadephul announced that the federal government intended to send charter flights to Saudi Arabia and Oman in order to airlift stranded German travelers from there. In addition to the charter flights, the Foreign Office plans to dispatch crisis support teams to Muscat, Doha and Dubai.

After Germany said it would begin evacuating the first German travelers from the Gulf war zone, opposition parties are criticizing the approach taken by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.

The Foreign Office is currently preparing the repatriation of “particularly vulnerable groups” — the sick, children and pregnant women — from the conflict region, in measures announced on Monday.

For the Greens, the response is insufficient and comes too late.

“What we are currently witnessing in the Middle East is an escalation that had been emerging as a possible scenario for weeks,” Green foreign affairs expert Luise Amtsberg told the Funke Media Group.

“The fact that the federal government nevertheless appears unprepared and overwhelmed in this now acute threat situation is alarming.”

“Announcing only on the third day after the outbreak of war that it intends to evacuate individual vulnerable groups from the region is not sufficient,” Amtsberg added.

Guten Tag from the DW newsroom here in Bonn as we bring you the latest about Germany.

You join us amid criticism that the  German government’s plans to evacuate stranded German tourists in the Gulf region is too little, too late.

Meanwhile, police are warning travelers not to fall victim to scams when rebooking their trips.

Stay with us for this and other Germany-related headlines from Tuesday, March 3.