First Thing: Trump tells critics to ‘sit back and relax’ as Iran claims to target US base

A woman walks past an anti-US mural on a street in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/Reuters View image in fullscreen A woman walks past an anti-US mural on a street in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/Reuters First Thing: Trump tells critics to ‘sit back and relax’ as Iran claims to target US base US says it struck Iranian military sites at the weekend, as Iran targets an airbase used by the US to attack southern Iran Good morning, Martin Belam here. I will be popping into your inbox writing First Thing regularly for the next little while. Here are today’s main stories … Trump promises war with Iran ‘will all work out well in the end’ Donald Trump has told critics of his Israeli-backed war on Iran to “sit back and relax”. Posting on Truth Social, the US president claimed securing a deal with Iran to end the war was being made more difficult by what he said were “political hacks” who “keep negatively ‘chirping’”, but that “it will all work out well in the end. It always does!” Meanwhile, the US said it struck Iranian military sites at the weekend, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday it had targeted an airbase used by the US for an attack on southern Iran. Air defences in Kuwait, where a large US base is located, were intercepting missile and drone attacks on Monday as sirens sounded across the country, the state news agency Kuna reported. Is this the end of the ceasefire, then? The US and Iran have sporadically exchanged strikes since their ceasefire took effect in early April, as negotiations aimed at a more durable agreement drag on. A similar exchange occurred last Thursday. The war launched by the US and Israel on 28 February has killed thousands of people – mainly in Iran and Lebanon – and caused global economic pain by pushing up energy prices. Lead prosecutor withdraws from criminal case against James Comey View image in fullscreen The former FBI director James Comey denies the allegations. Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA The lead prosecutor in the former FBI director James Comey’s case over a controversial social media post has withdrawn from the case , according to a court filing. The justice department filed notice with the court on Friday evening that Matthew Petracca, a prosecutor from the US attorney’s office for the eastern district of North Carolina, had been replaced by the assistant US attorney Timothy Severo. The documents did not include any explanation for the change. What was Comey accused of? Comey, who was indicted in North Carolina in April, faces up to 10 years in prison for a photo of seashells arranged to read “86 47.” Prosecutors allege the post constituted a threat against Donald Trump, the 47th US president. Comey denies the allegation. Colombia’s far-right presidential candidate Espriella wins first round of vote ahead of runoff View image in fullscreen Abelardo de la Espriella speaks to supporters behind bulletproof glass in Barranquilla, Colombia. Photograph: Rodrigo Buendía/AFP/Gett