Western leaders have warned that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons after a peace agreement was reached between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic.

This was conveyed in a joint statement by the E4 Leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy. Japan, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Poland and Portugal also endorsed the statement on the US-Iran peace deal.

In the statement published on the UK government website, the leaders “welcome the announcement of the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran.”

“Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon. We stand ready to work with the U.S., Iran and the IAEA to this end. We are prepared to lift relevant sanctions in response to clear, verifiable steps by Iran on its nuclear programme,” they said.

The leaders congratulated the United States, the Iranian government, Pakistan, Qatar, and all other mediators on this diplomatic breakthrough.

“This is a moment of opportunity to restore regional stability and stabilise the global economy,” they said. “It is now vital that the detailed negotiations are concluded and this agreement is implemented rapidly and comprehensively.”

According to the statement, the urgent re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz with unconditional and unrestricted freedom of navigation is essential.

“We are committed to playing our part to achieve this—in accordance with our respective constitutional requirements—including through a strictly defensive and independent mission to reassure commercial shipping and conduct mine clearance operations.

“We will work intensively with the U.S., Iran and regional partners to seize this moment, maintain momentum and achieve a long-term diplomatic settlement,” they said.

After over three months of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, President Donald Trump announced that a peace deal had been reached on Sunday.

Since U.S-Israeli forces launched Operation Epic Fury on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, a crisis has erupted, causing a massive disruption in the global oil market.

With Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow ocean passageway connecting the Persian Gulf to the open ocean through which about 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas is ferried, oil and gas prices have soared globally.