First Thing: Trump backs G7 statement on Iran deal as domestic criticism grows

Good morning. Donald Trump, facing severe criticism from some domestic supporters for conducting a war against Iran that has met hardly any of its original objectives, has backed a joint G7 leaders’ statement that welcomes his proposed peace deal. The statement calls for further talks involving European leaders about Iran’s ballistic missiles, which is bound to be rejected by Iran. Iran’s top diplomat, meanwhile, has said a peace deal with the US would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon – something the Israeli side appears to have ruled out. Europe has been excluded from talks between the US and Iran since Trump became president, with some claiming the US negotiating team has lacked the expertise to match an Iranian side that has deep knowledge of nuclear issues and has been strengthened by its chokehold on commercial shipping in the strait of Hormuz. What is the domestic criticism of the deal? Many Senate Republicans said there were still unanswered questions and they needed thorough briefings before it was finalized. Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump and a longtime hawk on Iran, said: “The way Iran describes it, it’s awful. The way we describe it, it makes sense to me. Let’s look at it and see what it actually is.” How do people in Iran feel about the deal? The Guardian’s Deepa Parent found a shared sense of exhaustion , and anger that nothing has really changed. …