US and Iran inch closer to peace deal as Trump faces criticism from GOP hawks | First Thing

Good morning. Donald Trump defended himself against criticism from fellow Republicans yesterday as he appeared on the verge of agreeing a deal with Iran to end the war. As hawks in his party called the proposed agreement a disaster and questioned why the US president had launched the conflict in the first place, Trump claimed on social media that his deal would be “THE EXACT OPPOSITE” of the one agreed by Barack Obama, which Trump pulled out of in 2018. He added that he was not rushing into a deal, saying “both sides must take their time to get it right … There can be no mistakes!” Trump has ‘alienated’ voters ahead of midterms, warns ousted Republican Thomas Massie Thomas Massie speaks with supporters after his concession speech on 19 May in Hebron, Kentucky. Photograph: Jon Cherry/ Donald Trump’s Republican party is on course for a damaging rejection at the ballot box in November , according to a maverick US congressman ousted by a challenger handpicked by the president. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, became the latest of Trump’s targets to be defeated in the party’s primaries this week. He had repeatedly broken with the president over military action against Iran, government spending and the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. As control of US Congress hangs in the balance, Massie warned on Sunday that Trump had “disenfranchised” many of the Americans who had voted for him – and their party – in November 2024. …