World leaders expressed relief at the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, though President Donald Trump’s pre-ceasefire threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if an agreement wasn’t reached was deemed “unacceptable.” 

London’s The Guardian said the world took “a step back from the brink” and several leaders expressed hope that a diplomatic end to the five-week old conflict could be reached before the two-week ceasefire expires. 

“We must do all we can to support and sustain this ceasefire [and] turn it into a lasting agreement,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said via social media. 

But others remained critical of the way the conflict is being handled.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, for example, wrote on social media that “The government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket.”

And Pope Leo XIV in Rome called the ceasefire a “positive step” but said that reaching it after a “threat against the entire people of Iran” was “truly unacceptable.”

Markets reacted positively to news of the ceasefire, with crude oil prices dropping more than 15 percent to below $95 per barrel for the first time in a week and European stock exchanges opening the trading day higher.