EU leaders welcome US-Iran deal to end war as Macron says mission to aid Hormuz reopening 'ready'

The US and Iran said they had reached a deal to end the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz, though they offered few details about Tehran's nuclear programme. Senior EU officials welcomed a deal between the United States and Iran to end the war on Monday, saying Europe was ready to contribute to "a lasting peace." "I look forward to an end to this costly war and to the full restoration of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," António Costa, the president of the European Council representing member states, wrote in a post on X. "Weapons must now fall silent," Costa urged, saying the "European Union is ready to contribute to advancing a comprehensive strategy for lasting peace across the Middle East." The United States and Iran said they had reached a deal to end the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz, though they offered little indication on the thorny question of Tehran's nuclear programme. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen stressed the "priority now is its swift and full implementation," calling on "all parties to respect Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity and implement a genuine ceasefire." "There can be no peace in the Middle East while Lebanon is in flames," she warned, adding that the reopening of Hormuz was "essential for regional stability and the global economy" and that a final deal "should end Iran's nuclear and ballistic programmes and its destabilising activities in the region." Heading into talks with the bloc's foreign ministers, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said ministers would discuss Monday "how the EU can be closely involved in the next phase." Meanwhile, France's president said that a military mission set up by Paris and London to help with Strait of Hormuz traffic was ready to deploy, following the announcement of a deal to end the war. Macron, who is due to host US counterpart Donald Trump for a G7 meeting later on Monday, said that the UK-France mission's "assets are in place and ready to be deployed." "The resumption of maritime traffic, without restrictions or tolls, is an essential condition for regional stability and the global economy," he said in a post on X. The Strait of Hormuz is a vital waterway for energy supplies that was effectively blockaded by Iran since the start of the war. While it did not mention the Strait of Hormuz, state-run Fars news agency said in a report published a few minutes after Trump’s announcement that a legal framework governing navigation in the waters of the Persian Gulf would be established in cooperation between Iran and Oman. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the official signing ceremony of the deal would be held in Switzerland on Friday.