‘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.