German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Thursday that an escalation in the Middle East would be a huge risk for the global economy.

"An escalation in the Middle East has enormous potential to threaten global economic developments," Lindner said in a panel discussion alongside Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel in Washington DC.

"Especially because trade flows are affected," he added.

Finance leaders from the Group of Seven industrial democracies on Wednesday condemned Iran's attack on Israel.

(Reporting by Maria Martinez Editing by Miranda Murray)