‘A step back from the brink’: European leaders welcome US-Iran ceasefire

Announcement of deal met with relief, and calls for strait of Hormuz to be reopened and permanent end to hostilities US and Iran agree to provisional ceasefire Middle East crisis – live updates European leaders have welcomed the US-Iran ceasefire deal, while calling for the reopening of the strait of Hormuz and a permanent end to hostilities, including in Lebanon. The US and Iran agreed a two-week conditional ceasefire on Tuesday, including a temporary reopening of the strait of Hormuz, after last-minute diplomacy from Pakistan. The Israeli military said on Wednesday, however, that it was continuing “fighting and ground operations” in its war against the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, despite a statement from mediator Pakistan that Lebanon was included in the ceasefire.