PM Plenković says ceasefire deal with Iran is a positive development

Just hours before President Trump's deadline to wipe Iran off the map expired, the United States, Israel and Iran agreed to a tentative two-week ceasefire. The ceasefire deal does not include Israel’s targeting of neighboring Lebanon, with the IDF continuing to hammer Beirut.

The resumption of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has seen oil prices fall dramatically, with Brent Crude dropping almost twenty dollars to 91 dollars per barrel. Here's how Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković commented on the news: "I think this is good news. Markets around the world are reacting and oil prices are falling, which is very good for all of us, for our economies and our energy security. We have to see how things will develop over the next two weeks, and whether a long term peace deal is reached, which would be best."

The ceasefire has been welcomed by the European Union, China, Russia, Japan and the Holy See. And while the truce does not include an end to the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV is hopeful that it can lead to a wider peace: "I welcome with pleasure and as a sign of genuine hope the announcement of a two-week ceasefire. Only by returning to negotiations can an end to the war be achieved. I urge that this sensitive period be accompanied by prayer, in the hope that openness to dialogue will become a means of resolving other conflicts around the world."

However, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth adopted a less Christian tone, claiming that Iran had begged for a ceasefire: "Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield. A capital V military victory. By any measure, Epic Fury decimated Iran's military and rendered it combat ineffective for years to come."

US Vice-president JD Vance was a little more diplomatic in his tone, but warned that the truce is a fragile one: "What the President did, is he basically issued an ultimatum to the Iranians. He said; open up the Straits, stop trying to hold the world's economy hostage, and we'll engage in a ceasefire, and that's exactly the agreement that we came to last night. The Iranian's have agreed to open up the Straits, the United States has agreed to stop attacking, and not just the United States but also our allies, have agreed to stop attacking, and that is the basis of this fragile truce that we have, which is now eight to twelve hours old."

Provided that all sides honor the ceasefire agreement, the two week period is expected to be used for negotiations to be hosted by Pakistan. However, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, Ali Bahreini, has said that given prior experience with the Americans Tehran will approach the negotiations with caution: "Even the arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz is temporary. And we will make assessments through the negotiations, and we will see how serious the other side is. How much they are ready for reaching an agreement. And we should make sure that there would be no any war in the future. Because we don't want to negotiate and then be attacked again."

Source: HRT