The world has welcomed the ceasefire agreed by Israel and Iran but remains wary that the peace remains fragile.
Israel and Iran were reported to have agreed early on Tuesday to the phased ceasefire plan announced overnight by United States President Donald Trump, but both sides threatened swift retaliation in the event of the other breaking the deal, and tension remains high.
Shortly after Israel signalled its agreement, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had ordered the military to strike Tehran in response to what he said were missiles fired by Iran in violation of the ceasefire.
Trump then told Israel in a post on social media: “Do not drop those bombs!”
These events have only added to the confusion spurred by a complicated schedule for the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Iran has already stated that it intends to get its nuclear programme back on track swiftly.
Israel said that its first strikes on Iran launched on June 13 were spurred by intelligence reports that Tehran was close to developing a nuclear weapon. The US said similar, as it attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities on Saturday.
Amid these uncertainties, world reactions have been hopeful, but wary that the truce remains shaky, while voices are being raised calling for a renewed push for a ceasefire to end the war in Gaza.
Iran
Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, said its military had forced Israel to “unilaterally accept defeat and accept a ceasefire”.
Tehran’s forces would “keep their hands on the trigger” to respond to “any act of aggression by the enemy”, it said.
Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had achieved the goals it had set in launching its June 13 surprise attack on Iran, to destroy its nuclear programme and missile capabilities.
“In light of the achievement of the objectives of the operation, and in full coordination with President Trump, Israel has agreed to the President’s proposal for a bilateral ceasefire,” he said.
“Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defence and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat,” Netanyahu added.
Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid said on X that it is time for a ceasefire in Gaza now, too.
“This is the moment to close things there too. To bring back the hostages, to end the war. Israel needs to start rebuilding,” he said.
United States
US politicians are divided over Trump’s ceasefire efforts.
“President Trump just did what no other president could do. All it took was the American people electing Donald J. Trump and the world is safer for it. CEASEFIRE!” South Carolina GOP Representative Nancy Mace also added on X.
“I think the president really hit the reset button and said, ‘Look, let’s actually produce long-term peace for the region.’ That’s always been his goal,” US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News.
Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told Fox News: “I think that the president of United States, admitting that he unilaterally brought the United States into a war without congressional approval, is a very grave public admission. It is illegal. It is unconstitutional,” she said.
“And, and so for me, while the president is posting something about a ceasefire, I think what he also posted was an official acknowledgement that this was war. And I think that is something that should be taken into very serious consideration.”
Qatar
Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said his country, on the request of the US, reached out to Iran to help mediate the ceasefire.
He said Qatar “welcomes” the ceasefire but is concerned about reported violations.
“The violations of the ceasefire witnessed this morning are unacceptable and we hope that the ceasefire will hold and diplomacy will prevail,” he said.
Al Thani added that Gaza ceasefire talks, which Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between Israel and Hamas, will resume in “the next two days”.
“We hope that Israel does not take advantage of the Iran ceasefire to keep attacking Gaza,” he said.
Egypt
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed the truce, saying it “could represent a turning point in ending the military confrontation between the two countries and restoring calm to the region,” the statement said.
Lebanon
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Abdallah Salim Salam said he was glad that his country had “managed to avoid being dragged into the Israel-Iran war”.
Jordan
Jordan welcomed the ceasefire and highlighted its importance in reducing tensions in the region.
Sufyan Qudah, spokesperson for Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stressed that the ceasefire agreement should be protected from further deterioration.
He also called for a ceasefire to now be reached in Gaza.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia said it “welcomes the announcement by (Trump) … that a formula for a ceasefire agreement was reached between the two parties”.
Russia
“If a ceasefire has indeed been achieved, this can only be welcomed,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Moscow hoped “that this will be a sustainable ceasefire.”
China
China has said it does not want tensions between Israel and Iran to escalate and is willing to work with the international community to maintain peace and stability in the Middle East.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told a regular news conference that Beijing is calling on all parties concerned to return to a political settlement at an early date.
European Union
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the bloc “welcomes” the announcement. “It’s an important step towards restoring stability in a region in tension. This must be our collective priority,” she said on social media and urged Iran to “engage seriously in a credible diplomatic process”.
France
“France urges Iran to engage without delay in negotiations leading to an agreement that addresses all concerns related to its nuclear and ballistic programs and its destabilizing activities,” the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Germany
“I welcome the call by the American President for a sequenced ceasefire,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote on social media, urging Iran and Israel to “heed” the call while “thanking” Qatar and other countries in the region for their “prudence” during the “dramatic” past days.
“If this ceasefire succeeds following the decisive military strikes by the US against Iran’s nuclear facilities, it would be a very positive development. It will make the Middle East and the world safer,” Merz noted.
Airspace
Airspace across the Middle East has begun reopening after the conflict closed it, including in Qatar, Iraq, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Syria.
Airlines now have backlogs to cover.
Oman Air said its flight operations returned to normal following cancellations last night over regional tensions.
“With over 25,000 impacted passengers currently in Doha, the immediate priority is clearing the significant backlog of those passengers and flying them to their final destination,” a spokesperson for Virgin Australia said.
Markets
Oil prices dropped by 3 percent, global shares surged and the dollar dropped as Trump announced the ceasefire.
News of the ceasefire saw the dollar extend an overnight retreat and slip 0.77 percent to 145.0 yen. The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.1602.
The yen and euro benefitted from the slide in oil prices as both the EU and Japan rely heavily on imports of oil and liquefied natural gas, while the US is a net exporter.
