The United States and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire, with talks to finalise a peace deal set to begin in Pakistan’s Islamabad on Friday.
The truce, announced by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, will also see Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime corridor through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.
Countries around the world have welcomed the developments.
Here’s a roundup of the reactions:
China
China says it welcomes the ceasefire, underlining its role in encouraging a deal between the US and Iran to pause hostilities.
“China welcomes relevant parties announcing the reaching of a ceasefire agreement,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news conference on Wednesday.
“We have repeatedly introduced the efforts made by China,” she said, noting that Foreign Minister Wang Yi had held 26 calls with counterparts from relevant countries while Beijing’s Middle East envoy had “shuttled across” the war-torn region.
Beijing would “continue to make efforts to ease the situation and achieve a complete end to the war”.
Russia
Russia says the approach of a “one-track, aggressive, unprovoked attack” against Iran suffered a “crushing defeat” after Trump announced the two-week ceasefire.
“All the statements that were made about … being more aggressive, being more offensive, writing more on social media and ‘victory’ – it’s just around the corner. Once again, this position has suffered a crushing defeat. So has the approach of such a one-track, aggressive, unprovoked attack,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik Radio in an interview.
Zakharova further said Russia has stated the necessity of immediately stopping the “aggression” against Iran and commencing a “real political and diplomatic settlement”, as well as the lack of a military solution to the situation, from the very beginning.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council said the ceasefire showed that common sense has prevailed, but that “there’ll be no cheap oil” going forward.
Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X that he supports Trump’s decision to suspend strikes on Iran, and the “US effort to ensure that Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbours and the world”.
Netanyahu said, however, that the ceasefire does “not include Lebanon“, where Israeli forces have launched a ground invasion and are fighting with the Iran-aligned Hezbollah.
United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all parties to abide by the terms of the ceasefire “in order to pave the way toward a lasting and comprehensive peace in the region”, according to his spokesperson.
Guterres underscored “that an end to hostilities is urgently needed to protect civilian lives and alleviate human suffering”, and thanked Pakistan and other nations involved in facilitating the truce.
European Union
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “I welcome the two-week ceasefire the US and Iran agreed last night. It brings much needed de-escalation.”
European Council President Antonio Costa added that he urged “all parties to uphold its terms in order to achieve sustainable peace in the region”.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the deal “a step back from the brink after weeks of escalation”.
Spain
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said “the Spanish government will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they turn up with a bucket.”
Sanchez said ceasefires were always welcome news, but added that “momentary relief must not make us forget the chaos, the destruction and the lives lost” while calling for “diplomacy, international law and PEACE” to prevail.
India
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement welcoming the ceasefire that “the conflict has already caused immense suffering to people and disrupted global energy supply and trade networks.
“We expect that unimpeded freedom of navigation and global flow of commerce would prevail through the Strait of Hormuz,” it added.
France
French President Emmanuel Macron described the ceasefire as “a very good thing”.
Speaking at the start of a meeting with senior defence and security officials, Macron said: “We expect, in the coming days and weeks, that it will be fully respected throughout the region and will allow negotiations to take place.”
He added: “Our wish is to ensure that the ceasefire fully includes Lebanon.”
Japan
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters that Tokyo welcomes the news of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran as a “positive move” as it awaits a “final agreement”.
Minoru said the de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East remains a top priority, according to the Kyodo News Agency.
Indonesia
Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry Yvonne Mewengkang said Jakarta welcomes a ceasefire deal and called on Iran and the US to respect the “sovereignty, territorial integrity and diplomacy” of each side, according to the Reuters news agency.
Mewengkang also called for a thorough investigation into the deaths of three Indonesian UN peacekeepers killed by explosions in Lebanon in late March amid fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters.
Malaysia
Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ceasefire marks a “significant development [and] serves as a crucial step towards de-escalating tensions and restoring much-needed peace and stability” to the Middle East.
It also urged “all parties to fully respect and implement all terms of the ceasefire in good faith to prevent any return to hostilities”, while also avoiding any “provocative actions or unilateral measures that could negatively impact the fragile stability of the region or jeopardise global economic and energy security”.
Australia
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong issued a joint statement welcoming the news and expressing their hopes that the deal will lead to a long-lasting resolution.
“Iran’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with its attacks on commercial vessels, civilian infrastructure, and oil and gas facilities, is causing unprecedented energy supply shocks and impacting oil and fuel prices,” they said. “We have been clear that the longer the war goes on, the more significant the impact on the global economy will be, and the greater the human cost.”
New Zealand
New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters welcomed the truce, but said much more needed to be done.
“While this is encouraging news, there remains significant important work to be done in the coming days to secure a lasting ceasefire”, as the war has had “wide-ranging impacts and disruptions” on the Middle East and beyond, he wrote in a post on X.
Germany
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed the ceasefire and thanked Pakistan for its role in mediating the truce. He said the aim in the coming days should be to negotiate a “lasting end to war” through diplomatic channels.
Ukraine
Ukraine welcomed the ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran and the unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz, with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha calling for similar “decisiveness” by Washington in stopping Russia’s war on his country.
“American decisiveness works. We believe it is time for sufficient decisiveness to force Moscow to cease fire and end its war against Ukraine,” Sybiha wrote on X.
