While most European leaders welcomed the ceasefire reached between the US and Iran on Tuesday night, some condemned a war they said should never have happened in the first place.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused US President Donald Trump of setting the “world on fire” and urged a return to diplomacy and international law. “The government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket,” Mr Sanchez wrote on social media on Wednesday.
“What’s needed now: diplomacy, international legality and peace.”
Mr Sanchez, who leads the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, has been Europe's most vocal critic of the US-Israeli war on Iran and a supporter of the Palestinian cause.
But even critics of Tehran in Europe are hoping to see the US and Iran secure a permanent end to the hostilities. French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday welcomed the ceasefire as a positive step.
“We are waiting for the coming days and weeks for the ceasefire to be respected across the region, and that it will allow us to deal with questions about Iran’s nuclear and ballistics programmes in a sustainable way,” Mr Macron told his Defence and National Security Council.
“It is through negotiations that we will be able to obtain security guarantees that are needed for the region.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the truce as a “moment of relief to the region and the world”, and urged allies to work together. “Together with our partners, we must do all we can to support and sustain this ceasefire, turn it into a lasting agreement and re-open the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
Mr Starmer has arrived in Saudi Arabia as he visits Gulf allies, and to visit British troops in the Arabian Gulf. He will set out his full support for the ceasefire and emphasise the need for a long-term diplomatic resolution.
The British leader will also hold talks on the need to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains open permanently, with London keen to lead international efforts to protect shipping in the region his office said.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas is scheduled to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to discuss the conflict with regional officials, including Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and GCC Secretary General Jasem Al Budaiwi.
“The Gulf is caught in a conflict it did not choose. Iran has launched hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles at its neighbours over the past weeks. With her counterparts, [Ms Kallas] will discuss ways to end the fighting and potential diplomatic off-ramps. Diplomacy works better face-to-face,” an EU official told The National.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he was in “close co-ordination” with allies to ensure they negotiate a “lasting end to the war”. He thanked Pakistan for its mediation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the truce as bringing “much-needed de-escalation”.
“I thank Pakistan for its mediation. Now it is crucial that negotiations for an enduring solution to this conflict continue. We will continue co-ordinating with our partners to this end,” she wrote on social media on Wednesday.
There have also been calls for the temporary ceasefire to include Lebanon, as Israel continued military operations against its neighbour. “Our wish is to ensure that the ceasefire fully includes Lebanon,” Mr Macron said on Wednesday.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares described Israel's continuing campaign as “unacceptable”.
“All fronts must cease, and all fronts also means Lebanon,” he told public radio station RNE on Wednesday.
In a statement on social media, EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica said Lebanon should be included in the ceasefire to extend “this momentum towards broader regional peace”.
