World leaders reacted with cautious optimism to the news on Tuesday that Israel and Iran had agreed to a cease-fire after 12 days of unprecedented warfare between the two countries.
Hours after the agreement was first announced by President Trump, then confirmed by Israel and Iran, Mr. Trump suggested that both had continued fighting and warned Israel that further attacks would be a “major violation.”
Israel has accused Iran of violating the cease-fire and said it would retaliate. Iran’s military denied launching an attack after the cease-fire went into effect, Iranian state news outlets reported.
Here is what some leaders and governments have said:
United States: Mr. Trump, who helped broker the agreement, expressed displeasure with Israel and Iran on Tuesday, saying attacks appeared to have continued. “I’m gonna see if I can stop it,” he told reporters as he departed the White House to head to the NATO summit in the Netherlands.
Russia: Dmitri S. Peskov, the spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin, said the Kremlin hoped the cease-fire would prove durable. “If a cease-fire has indeed been achieved, then that can only be welcomed,” he said. “We hope that it will be a sustainable cease-fire.”
France: President Emmanuel Macron praised Mr. Trump’s announcement that a cease-fire had been agreed, but he said that “the situation remains volatile and unstable.” Speaking to reporters during a visit to Norway, Mr. Macron said: “The last minutes have shown that the situation remains very fragile.”
Germany: Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he welcomed Mr. Trump’s announcement and urged Israel and Iran to heed it. The United States and European countries would discuss ways to stabilize the situation later on Tuesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit, he said.
Qatar: The cease-fire was in a “gray area,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, prime minister of Qatar, told a news conference on Tuesday. “No party wants to be the party that was hit last,” he said. Qatar’s emir helped negotiate the cease-fire, he said, adding that “what we hope to see, truly, is a serious cease-fire, with the parties acting responsibly.”
Saudi Arabia: The country’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it welcomed the cease-fire announcement and valued “the efforts exerted to de-escalate tensions.”
European Union: Reports of missile fire underscore “just how fragile this cease-fire potentially remains,” Anouar El Anouni, a E.U. spokesman for foreign affairs, said during a news conference. “We do call on Iran to engage seriously in a credible diplomatic process,” he added.
Matthew Mpoke Bigg is a London-based reporter on the Live team at The Times, which covers breaking and developing news.
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