KLINGBEIL: WAR AGAINST IRAN IS COSTING GERMANY DEARLY

BERLIN, JULY 7 /SRNA – RIA Novosti/ - The conflict in the Middle East has cut Germany's economic growth in half, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said.

"The war against Iran has cut in half the economic recovery we had expected this year. This war is costing Germany dearly," Klingbeil told a press conference in Berlin.

Klingbeil said that, because of the economic situation caused by the conflict in the Middle East, the German Government had been forced to adopt strict fiscal measures, including postponing the repayment of previously borrowed funds.

Iran and the United States signed a memorandum on June 18 providing for an end to the military conflict that began on February 28.

The memorandum sets deadlines for the United States to lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports and for Iran to restore transit through the Strait of Hormuz.