Germany's AfD hosts US representatives in Berlin

Leading members of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party met US representatives in Berlin on Wednesday amid disagreements over the US and Israeli attack on Iran.

Among those invited to a speaking event was Stefano Forte, president of the New York Young Republican Club and a fervent supporter of US President Donald Trump. The club is a youth organization of the Republican Party.

David Goldman, an adviser at the US State Department in Washington, also attended the AfD event as a guest and spoke afterwards with AfD lawmakers. Asked by dpa for comment, he declined to respond.

Trump's "Make America Great Again (MAGA)" movement and the AfD are seen as particularly close on issues such as migration and social policy.

'Major overlap with the MAGA movement'

"We have major overlap with the MAGA movement in the United States. It is therefore only logical that we are in contact with each other," said Markus Frohnmaier, the AfD's foreign policy spokesman and organizer of the event, which was held in a Bundestag building.

Frohnmaier had visited Forte in New York in December.

In his speech, he described the AfD as the natural friends of US Republicans and called for an end to the so-called firewall with which Germany's conservative bloc politically isolates the AfD. He said it should fall just as the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.

Since Trump took office, AfD politicians have stepped up efforts to build close ties with Washington, including trips to the US and meetings with Republicans.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also openly sided with the AfD and criticized how Germany's domestic intelligence agency has dealt with the party.

Criticism of US foreign policy

After the US military action in Venezuela, the dispute over Greenland and the start of US strikes on Iran, the AfD leadership has become increasingly critical of Trump's foreign policy.

That, however, changed nothing in relations with partners, Frohnmaier said, adding that differences in interests were "a completely normal and natural process among partners."

Forte said there was room for differences of opinion between partners, adding that relations between the MAGA movement and the AfD were strong.