Leaders from London to Doha to Bogotá congratulated President Donald Trump on Sunday evening after the United States and Iran reached a peace agreement that promises to end military conflict between the two nations and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply flows each year.
The deal, which is set to be formally signed next week in Switzerland, drew swift and unusually warm reactions from European allies, Gulf states, and even a left-wing Latin American president, a striking tableau for an American leader the global establishment spent years warning would plunge the world into chaos.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the breakthrough "a hugely important step forward." French President Emmanuel Macron pledged resources. Qatar's prime minister thanked the mediators. And Colombia's president, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council, offered his country's full support. Whatever one thinks of the specifics still to come, the diplomatic world on Sunday night was speaking with one voice, and that voice was crediting Donald Trump.
Starmer's statement was the most detailed of the bunch. The British prime minister praised both Trump and the mediators from Pakistan, Qatar, and elsewhere who helped broker the agreement.
"I warmly welcome today's agreement reached between the United States and Iran. This is a hugely important step forward in ending the war, ensuring regional stability and reopening the Strait of Hormuz."
He went further, acknowledging the economic toll the conflict had already taken on ordinary families, not just in the Middle East, but in Britain and across the globe.
"I congratulate President Trump and the mediators from Pakistan, Qatar and elsewhere who have contributed to this breakthrough. We have long urged de-escalation, and this is the progress we had hoped to see."
Starmer said his government stands "ready to support" efforts to ensure the Strait "reopens and remains fully and permanently open." He referenced months of planning between the United Kingdom and France on a "defensive, independent multilateral mission," including mine clearance operations, should they be needed.
On the nuclear question, Starmer was direct. He said it remains the UK's "firm and longstanding position that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon" and insisted that commitments made in the agreement, "particularly in relation to Iran's nuclear programme", must be "robust, verifiable and fully implemented."
That language matters. It signals that London, at least, intends to hold Tehran to the letter of whatever terms emerge from the Swiss signing. Whether that resolve survives the inevitable diplomatic fog remains to be seen.
Macron echoed Starmer's emphasis on the Strait of Hormuz but framed it in blunter economic terms. The French president, posting on X, said French "resources are in place and ready to be deployed" alongside the British-led multilateral mission to secure free passage for commercial shipping.
"The resumption of maritime traffic, without restriction or toll, is an indispensable condition for regional stability and the global economy."
The phrase "without restriction or toll" is pointed. For months, the closure or restriction of the Strait had inflicted severe economic pain worldwide. Macron clearly wants the waterway reopened on terms that prevent Iran, or anyone else, from leveraging it as an economic chokepoint again.
Macron also looked beyond the immediate deal. He said the agreement "paves the way for comprehensive negotiations in the service of peace and security for all in the Middle East." Those negotiations, he argued, must address Iran's nuclear and ballistic programs as well as what he called Tehran's "policy of regional destabilisation."
"This is how we will be able to build a solid and lasting peace. France is prepared to play its full part, alongside its partners."
The French president also stressed the importance of a ceasefire with Israel in Lebanon, linking it to the restoration of Beirut's sovereignty over its entire territory, much of which has fallen under Hezbollah control.
From Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani posted a statement on X thanking "our brothers in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and to all regional and international parties who contributed to creating the conditions for reaching this understanding."
Qatar's role as a mediator in Middle Eastern conflicts is well established. Al Thani's statement positioned Doha as a continuing partner in the process.
"We look forward to all parties engaging in the upcoming negotiations in a positive and constructive spirit, contributing to consolidating and building upon this progress. We affirm that the State of Qatar will always remain a steadfast supporter of these efforts and of all that promotes security and stability at the regional and international levels through dialogue and peaceful means."
Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising praise came from Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a left-wing leader who has clashed with Washington on other fronts. Petro thanked Trump for his "effort when it comes to the peace of humanity", not the kind of language American progressives or their international allies typically direct at this president.
"Colombia today holds the presidency of the United Nations Security Council and will contribute everything within its reach to support the peace effort between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Petro's willingness to publicly credit Trump by name, and to pledge the Security Council presidency's weight behind the effort, speaks to the breadth of the diplomatic consensus the agreement has generated, at least in its early hours.
For all the congratulations, the full text of the agreement has not been made public. Key details remain unknown: the exact terms governing Iran's nuclear program, the specific conditions for reopening and permanently securing the Strait of Hormuz, the enforcement mechanisms, and the identities of who will sign the deal in Switzerland.
The role of Pakistan and Qatar as mediators has been acknowledged by multiple leaders, but the precise nature of their contributions has not been detailed. Nor has anyone explained publicly what triggered the Strait's closure or restriction in the first place, a gap that matters for evaluating whether the agreement addresses root causes or merely symptoms.
Starmer's insistence on "robust, verifiable and fully implemented" commitments is the right standard. Iran's track record on nuclear agreements is, to put it charitably, uneven. The 2015 deal negotiated under the Obama administration was widely criticized on the right, and by many centrists, for its weak verification provisions and sunset clauses. If this agreement is to be different, the verification architecture will need to be visible and credible.
Macron's call for "comprehensive negotiations" addressing Iran's ballistic program and regional destabilization suggests that European leaders view the current deal as a first step, not a final settlement. That framing is realistic. Iran's support for proxy forces across the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, has been a destabilizing force for decades. A deal that addresses the nuclear file but ignores Tehran's broader conduct would leave the fundamental problem intact.
What stands out most about Sunday's reaction is who was doing the praising. Starmer leads a Labour government. Macron is no one's idea of a conservative. Petro is an avowed leftist. These are not Trump's natural allies. They are leaders who, in other contexts, have been eager to distance themselves from Washington's current direction.
And yet each of them went out of his way to credit Trump by name. Starmer congratulated "President Trump." Petro thanked him for his "effort when it comes to the peace of humanity." Macron framed France as ready to support the agreement Trump brokered.
That tells you something about the weight of the achievement, or at least the weight these leaders assign to it in its opening hours. Diplomatic courtesy accounts for some of it. But the specificity and warmth of the statements go beyond boilerplate.
The Strait of Hormuz alone makes this deal consequential in raw economic terms. Around one-fifth of global oil supplies pass through that waterway every year. Its closure has meant higher energy prices, disrupted supply chains, and real pain for working families from Birmingham to Bogotá. Reopening it is not an abstraction. It is groceries and gas.
The formal signing next week in Switzerland will begin to answer the harder questions: Is the verification real? Are the nuclear commitments enforceable? Will Iran's regional behavior actually change? Those answers will determine whether this agreement endures or joins the long list of Middle Eastern deals that looked better on paper than in practice.
But on Sunday night, the world's leaders were not hedging. They were applauding. And the man they were applauding was Donald Trump.
Results have a way of settling arguments that commentary never can.