Washington DC, May 4 -- A decision by Germany to allow its spy agency to monitor opposition groups has sparked a conflict between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Germany's Foreign Ministry. Rubio criticised the move, calling it "tyranny in disguise."

In contrast, Germany's Foreign Ministry defended the measure, emphasising its commitment to protecting the Constitution and the rule of law, stating that the move followed a thorough investigation and said that "rightwing extremism needs to be stopped."

In a post on X on Friday, Marco Rubio said, "Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That's not democracy--it's tyranny in disguise. What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD--which took second in th...