Germany is allowing the United States to use Ramstein Air Base to coordinate drone and missile strikes against Iran, drawing criticism from opposition politicians who warn the facility could become a target for retaliation, while authorities say it is all by the book.
US President Donald Trump praised German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House for permitting American forces to operate from German territory, unlike other European countries.
“We appreciate that, and they simply provide a pleasant environment,” Trump said. “We’re not asking them to send troops or anything like that.”
Ramstein Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate serves as the control hub for US operations in the Middle East. Data connections and satellite relays for drone operations pass through the facility because direct control from the United States would be too slow.
The German government says Ramstein’s use complies with international law. A Federal Constitutional Court ruling in July 2025 found Germany is not legally responsible for drone missions carried out from the base, even when they result in civilian casualties.
At a government press conference, government spokesman Stefan Kornelius confirmed that the use of Ramstein is “in accordance with international law”.
According to the German Constitutional Court, Berlin is not legally responsible for drone missions carried out from Ramstein, based on the ruling following a lawsuit by two Yemeni citizens whose relatives died in a 2012 US drone strike.
They argued that Germany had to intervene because there is a satellite relay station at the air base that transmits data for controlling the drones.
The court found, in principle, that Germany may have a duty to protect human rights and international humanitarian law – even in cases involving events abroad, but that the duty does not extend to situations in which it does not participate directly.
Despite criticism of the US drone attacks in the past, no evidence of systematic violations of international law or the right to life could be derived from this.
Will Ramstein make Germany a target?
Left Party MP Lea Reisner called for Ramstein to close, warning the government is “dragging us into a morally and legally reprehensible war,” suggesting the base might be a legitimate target for Iran.
According to data available to Euronews, Iran’s missiles cannot reach Germany, while a missile would have to fly unnoticed over several NATO member states to reach Ramstein.
The country’s ballistic missiles have a maximum range of 3,000 kilometres, while the base sits more than 4,200 kilometres from Iran.
While long-range ballistic missiles with a range of over 3,000 kilometres are currently at an advanced stage of development, according to multiple reports, Euronews has not been able to independently verify this information.
Furthermore, both the US and Israel claim they have severely impeded Iran’s strike capabilities in strikes since last Saturday.
Israel says it has destroyed more than 300 Iranian mobile missile launchers since operations began.
Iran fired 600 to 700 missiles in the war’s opening days but recent attacks have been smaller and less coordinated, according to a CEPA report citing damage to launch systems and command centres.
Is Ramstein German or US territory?
Ramstein Air Base is located in Rhineland-Palatinate, around 10 kilometres from Kaiserslautern.
It is the largest US Air Force base outside the US, the headquarters of the US Air Force for Europe and Africa, and a central NATO location for planning and conducting air operations.
Although the base is located on German territory and the site belongs to the Federal Republic of Germany, special legal regulations apply to US soldiers. Under the NATO Status of Forces Agreement, Washington has criminal jurisdiction over many offences committed on the site.
The stationing of US troops in Germany is based on NATO agreements and the security policy order under the 2+4 Treaty, which guarantees Germany its full sovereignty.
Theoretically, Berlin could cancel the deployment agreement – but politically this would have far-reaching consequences for NATO and relations with Washington.
The German government could, like other countries, prohibit the US from using Ramstein. This would mean that operations such as drone attacks could not be carried out so easily.
German to join Mediterranean naval asset deployment?
Germany was, however, considering sending a warship to the eastern Mediterranean following the Iranian drone strike on a British base in Cyprus. The frigate North Rhine-Westphalia stopped in Cyprus last weekend en route to Lebanon.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany would not join the war, though. “We are well advised not to allow ourselves to be driven into an escalation here,” he said at a Berlin exercise. “We will not take part in this war – at most in terms of protection or material support.”
The Bundeswehr is keeping evacuation aircraft on standby for possible rescue missions of German citizens and diplomats.
Greece has already deployed four F-16 fighter jets and two frigates in accordance with the Greek-Cypriot defence doctrine.
Spain has also announced that it will send its frigate Cristóbal Colón to the eastern Mediterranean, where it will join the European presence centred around the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.