British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it “a moment of relief” and is set to travel to the Middle East on Wednesday to work with Gulf partners on making the reopening of the strait permanent. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the goal now was a “lasting end to the war.”
Pope Leo said he welcomed the ceasefire announcement “with satisfaction and deep hope,” after condemning as “unacceptable” Trump’s threat on Tuesday to erase an entire civilization. “Only through a return to the negotiating table can we bring the war to an end,” the Pontiff said after his general audience Wednesday morning.
Some world leaders reacted positively, but with caveats.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez struck a more critical note, saying ceasefires are “always good news” — especially if they lead to “a just and lasting peace” — but warned the “momentary relief” cannot erase the “chaos, the destruction, and the lives lost,” adding that Spain “will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also praised the ceasefire as “the right decision” that can save lives and enable diplomacy, while noting that Ukraine is still waiting for Russia to agree to one of its own. Kyiv has “always called for a ceasefire,” he said, adding it is ready to respond in kind if Moscow halts its strikes.
The ceasefire deal, struck after Trump initially warned that an “entire civilization would die” if Iran refused to reach an agreement, hinges on Tehran allowing safe passage through the critical Hormuz shipping route and advancing a 10-point framework presented by its government.