United Nations, June 15: UN chief Antonio Guterres has welcomed the announcement of a peace deal between the US and Iran that provides for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Secretary General Guterres on Sunday described it as a critical step towards the peaceful settlement of the conflict. The US and Iran finalised a deal to end their 107-day war and open the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway used to ferry one-fifth of the global oil supplies, on Friday after an in-person signing of the agreement in Switzerland.