‘Moment of relief’: World leaders react to US-Iran ceasefire deal
A group of countries said they would “contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz” as they praised the last-gasp deal.
World leaders have shared their ‘relief’ after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire following a proposal from Pakistan.
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Donald Trump agreed to a provisional two-week ceasefire in the Iran war after pulling back at the last-minute from his apocalyptic warning that “a whole civilisation will die” unless Tehran met his demands on Tuesday night.
Less than two hours before his deadline passed for Iran to agree a deal, the US president said he was suspending his threat to widen the military offensive to power plants and bridges subject to the reopening of the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway.
Reacting to the last-gasp deal, Sir Keir Starmer said: “I welcome the ceasefire agreement reached overnight, which will bring a moment of relief to the region and the world.”
He added: “Together with our partners we must do all we can to support and sustain this ceasefire, turn it into a lasting agreement and re-open the Strait of Hormuz."
The Prime Minister was among a group of world leaders who made a joint statement praising the ceasefire, saying they would “contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz” following the deal.
Read more: US declares 'capital V for victory' as Defence Secretary says Iran 'begged for ceasefire'
It was signed by the leaders of the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council. “We strongly encourage quick progress towards a substantive negotiated settlement,” the statement said.
The world leaders added that the deal will be “crucial to protect the civilian population of Iran” and “ensure security in the region.”“It can avert a severe global energy crisis”.
They added: “We support these diplomatic efforts. To this end, we are in close contact with the United States and other partners. We call upon all sides to implement the ceasefire, including in Lebanon.
“Our governments will contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
It comes as the US declared "capital V for victory" in Iran, as Washington's Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth hailed Mr Trump for "choosing peace" by agreeing to a ceasefire."Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield. A capital V military victory by any measure," Hegseth said.
He said that, prior to the announcement of Trump's ceasefire, the US launched a wave of more than 800 strikes that "finished completely destroying Iran's defence industrial base, a core pillar of our mission objective".He added the country's command and control is "so decimated they can't really talk and coordinate, so they still may shoot here and there. But that would be very, very unwise."
He said Trump had the power to cripple Iran's entire economy in minutes, "but he chose mercy".Hegseth's comments came shortly after Trump took to social media to say Iran has agreed to "many" of his 15 demands.
Writing on TruthSocial, he said: "The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change!
"There will be no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear 'Dust.'
"It is now, and has been, under very exacting Satellite Surveillance (Space Force!). Nothing has been touched from the date of attack."We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran. Many of the 15 points have already been agreed to."
The exact details of the ceasefire remain unknown, with both sides claiming the other has capitulated.