Donald Trump arrived at the G7 summit in France on Monday declaring a landmark US-Iran peace deal "all signed," but the agreement showed immediate signs of strain even as markets celebrated the prospect of reopened shipping lanes.
The breakthrough centers on the strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil and liquid gas flows. Iran had shut the waterway to most traffic during its conflict with the US and Israel. News of a potential reopening sent stock markets climbing and oil prices falling Monday morning.
Iran's supreme national security council said military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, would cease permanently from Monday night. Yet Trump's claim that the deal is finished papers over substantial ambiguities. The precise terms remain murky, and Israel's continued breaches of the Lebanon ceasefire alongside Iran's assertion of the right to levy fees on strait traffic exposed deep cracks in the compromise.
A signing ceremony is scheduled for Friday in Geneva, but observers cautioned that the agreement is fragile. The deal contains numerous concessions and unclear provisions that could still unravel before the pen hits paper.
Domestic Tensions Mount
Back home, California Governor Gavin Newsom accused Trump of weaponizing the Justice Department against him and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom. In a video statement, the governor said federal agents had visited family friends and former employees demanding records and abusing grand jury processes in what he characterized as a search for a crime.
Meanwhile, Robert F Kennedy Jr, now heading the Health and Human Services Department, drew sharp criticism for pressuring a scientific journal over its decision to retract a paper linking vaccines to infant death. Public health advocates said Kennedy's letter to Toxicology Reports appeared designed to intimidate and influence editorial decisions. The journal had removed the paper after determining it contained serious flaws that could endanger patients.
An investigation into the death of a Haitian asylum seeker in Pennsylvania has been ruled a homicide by a medical examiner. The woman died after her release from federal immigration custody. Her family's attorney expects to sue Immigration and Customs Enforcement, though the agency denied responsibility in a statement.
In New Jersey, an ICE agent was struck by a vehicle and fired shots at the fleeing car on Monday morning, according to local authorities.
Eric Trump denied allegations that he sought to fix UFC fights hosted at the White House. Screenshots circulating online appeared to show a message from an account under his name asking commentator Daniel Cormier whether Sunday's fights would be rigged.
The Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge from the gun industry to a New York law permitting lawsuits against firearms makers and dealers for endangering public safety through their sales practices.
In international news, the UK government launched a weeks-long campaign to convince Trump's administration that its proposed under-16s social media ban does not target American tech companies.
Author James Rodriguez: "Trump's Iran deal looks good on paper until you read the fine print, and his weaponization of federal agencies at home while claiming diplomatic victories abroad reveals the real strain fracturing his movement."
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