Trump Reacts as Iran Claims Strike on U.S. Base Amid Escalating Tensions

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!”

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that Matthew Petracca, a prosecutor from the US attorney’s office for the eastern district of North Carolina, had been replaced by the assistant US attorney Timothy Severo.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

The far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella won the first round of Colombia’s presidential election on Sunday. He will face Senator Iván Cepeda, the candidate backed by the leftwing president, Gustavo Petro, in the runoff.

With 99.97% of ballots counted, the outsider and Trump admirer Espriella secured 43.7% of the vote – just over 10.3m votes – compared with 40.9% (about 9.6m votes) for Cepeda, a philosopher and human rights activist who has served as a senator since 2014.

Although polls in recent weeks had identified Espriella’s rapid rise, most showed him trailing Cepeda, who for months appeared to have a solid lead. The two will face each other in a runoff on 21 June.

What did Espriella say after the victory? In a video alongside his wife and children, all wearing Colombian national soccer team shirts, he said: “Compatriots, defenders of the homeland, more than 10 million Colombians placed their trust in el Tigre and joined the pack … In 21 days, we are going to change the history of Colombia for ever.”

With 99.97% of ballots counted, the outsider and Trump admirer Espriella secured 43.7% of the vote – just over 10.3m votes – compared with 40.9% (about 9.6m votes) for Cepeda, a philosopher and human rights activist who has served as a senator since 2014.

Although polls in recent weeks had identified Espriella’s rapid rise, most showed him trailing Cepeda, who for months appeared to have a solid lead. The two will face each other in a runoff on 21 June.

• What did Espriella say after the victory? In a video alongside his wife and children, all wearing Colombian national soccer team shirts, he said: “Compatriots, defenders of the homeland, more than 10 million Colombians placed their trust in el Tigre and joined the pack … In 21 days, we are going to change the history of Colombia for ever.”