Iran and the United States have agreed to a two-week ceasefire, which includes the safe transit of vessels through the crucial Strait of Hormuz. The agreement comes as the conflict entered its 40th day, with hopes now focused on achieving a lasting peace deal through talks scheduled to begin in Pakistan on Friday. The truce, effective early Wednesday, followed an announcement by US President Donald Trump that he would suspend attacks, contingent on Tehran fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which 20 percent of the world’s oil supply flows. Iran’s foreign ministry confirmed that safe passage through the strait would be possible for two weeks, coordinated with its armed forces. The announcement sparked celebrations across Iran and was welcomed by numerous world leaders.<\/p>\n
The weeks-long conflict had drawn in nearly the entire Middle East, with Iran launching retaliatory attacks, claiming to target US assets in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Gulf states, however, alleged that Iranian attacks also targeted civilian infrastructure. Lebanon was also pulled into the war on March 2, after Tehran-aligned Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel. While Israel has endorsed the two-week ceasefire with Iran, it has explicitly stated that the truce does not include Lebanon, despite an initial announcement from Pakistan suggesting its inclusion.<\/p>\n
Against this backdrop, Gulf and other Middle Eastern nations have begun reacting to the ceasefire announcement:<\/p>\n
**Saudi Arabia:** The Kingdom’s foreign ministry “welcomes” the ceasefire, urging an end to attacks on regional countries and advocating for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia expressed hope that the ceasefire would “lead to a comprehensive sustainable pacification.”<\/p>\n
**Kuwait:** Kuwait’s foreign ministry hopes the ceasefire will result in a “comprehensive and permanent settlement.” As one of the nations significantly affected by Iranian attacks, Kuwait called for strict adherence to the ceasefire to facilitate dialogue between the warring parties, according to the state-run Kuwait News Agency.<\/p>\n
**Qatar:** The country’s foreign ministry welcomed the ceasefire as an “initial step toward de-escalation,” urging prompt action to “build upon it urgently to prevent the expansion of tensions in the region.” The ministry expressed its desire for “full adherence to the ceasefire announcement” and for Iran to “immediately cease all hostile acts.” It also emphasized “the importance of ensuring the security of maritime passages and the freedom of international navigation and trade in accordance with the rules of international law, contributing to the preservation of regional stability and global supply chains.”<\/p>\n
**United Arab Emirates:** Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE President, stated that the “UAE triumphed in a war we sincerely sought to avoid.” He added, “We prevailed through an epic national defense that safeguarded sovereignty and dignity and protected our achievements in the face of treacherous aggression.” Gargash concluded that the UAE would now “move forward to manage a complex regional landscape with greater leverage, sharper insight, and a more solid capacity to influence and shape the future,” praising “the UAE\u2019s renaissance model.”<\/p>\n
**Lebanon:** Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomed the truce, expressing hope for his country’s inclusion. A statement from the presidency indicated that Beirut “continued efforts to ensure that the regional peace includes Lebanon in a stable and lasting manner.” Meanwhile, Hezbollah legislator Ibrahim Al-Moussawi warned of a potential response from Iran and its allies if Israel “does not adhere to a ceasefire,” asserting that “The agreement includes Lebanon, according to its terms, and Iran insisted on this inclusion.” Despite these statements, Israeli strikes reportedly continued to hit Lebanon on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
**Oman:** Oman’s foreign ministry welcomed the ceasefire announcement between Iran and the US, appreciating “the efforts of Pakistan and all parties calling for an end to the war.” The ministry affirmed “the importance of intensifying efforts now to find solutions that can end the crisis from its roots and achieve a permanent cessation of the state of war and hostilities in the region.”<\/p>\n
**Iraq:** Iraq’s foreign ministry “welcomes” the ceasefire but called for “serious and sustainable dialogue” between the US and Iran. The ministry urged “building upon this positive step by launching serious and sustainable dialogue tracks that address the root causes of the disputes and strengthen mutual trust.” Iraq has been caught in the crossfire of the US-Israeli war on Iran, with Tehran-backed armed groups and US forces engaging in escalating violence.<\/p>\n
**Egypt:** The Egyptian foreign ministry stated that the ceasefire “represents a very important opportunity that must be seized to make room for negotiations, diplomacy, and constructive dialogue.” In a Facebook statement, the ministry emphasized that the truce must be built upon with a full commitment to “stopping military operations and respecting freedom of international navigation.” It added that Egypt would continue efforts with Pakistan and Turkiye “to promote security and stability in the region,” and that talks between the US and Iran “must take into account the legitimate security concerns” of Gulf nations.<\/p>\n
**Turkiye:** Turkiye welcomed the ceasefire in the Iran war and expressed support for negotiations set to take place in Islamabad, according to the Turkish foreign ministry. It stressed the necessity for the ceasefire to be fully implemented on the ground and called for all parties to adhere to the agreement.<\/p>\n
**Sudan:** Sudan described the two-week ceasefire as “a positive step towards de-escalation.” The Transitional Sovereignty Council stated, “This step represents a positive move toward de-escalation and supporting diplomacy to achieve peace and stability in the region.”<\/p>\n
**Hamas:** A senior Hamas official lauded the ceasefire as a “significant step” in curbing US hegemony in the Middle East. Bassem Naim, a Hamas political bureau member, stated that “The ceasefire\u2026 is undoubtedly a significant step toward diminishing American hegemony in the region and paves the way for the imminent demise of the illegitimate entity,” referring to Israel. He concluded, “The will of the free peoples, ready to pay the price for freedom and independence, has triumphed. Congratulations to the people and leadership of Iran, and our condolences to all the martyrs.”<\/p>\n
#IranUSCeasefire #MiddleEastPeace #StraitOfHormuz #RegionalStability #Diplomacy #GulfStates #IranWar #PeaceTalks #InternationalRelations #Ceasefire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iran and the United States have agreed to a two-week ceasefire, which includes the safe transit of vessels through the crucial Strait of Hormuz. The agreement comes as the conflict entered its 40th day, with hopes now focused on achieving a lasting peace deal through talks scheduled to begin in Pakistan on Friday. The truce, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}