New York Times: “For days, lines have formed and rationing has been implemented at gas stations in dozens of Russian regions, as persistent Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries and processing facilities have threatened a fuel shortage.”

“Ukraine has taken particular aim at Crimea, the peninsula that Russia illegally annexed in 2014, with a range of strikes aimed at cutting off the region’s supply lines. The Russian economy has also begun suffering from the costs of the war in a way that the Kremlin had managed to avoid for years.”

“Cuba’s leadership signed off on a sweeping list of 176 market-liberalization measures covering 23 core areas, as the Caribbean nation tries to rescue a moribund economy that’s being squeezed by US sanctions,” Bloomberg reports.

President Trump blasted critics of the Iran deal as “fools” for not thinking he was tough on Tehran, describing them as “either jealous, bad people, or stupid,” the New York Post reports.

Financial Times: “The deal has many critics, from hawks in the US to ultra-hardliners in Iran. Netanyahu, who wanted to continue the fight, is chastened and angry. Trump and Netanyahu have failed to secure many war objectives; the regime is not only intact but has been empowered, after withstanding the bombing and proving its ability to close the Strait of Hormuz. Before the war, Iran was engaging in nuclear talks, and shipping was passing freely through the strait.”

“But this deal is the least bad way for Trump to extricate himself from a crisis he ought never to have ignited.”

“During a state television broadcast on Wednesday, Iranian Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared that Iran emerged triumphant in its recent armed conflict against the United States and Israel,” Israel National News reports.

Playbook: “Are we sure that signing a peace treaty in Versailles — the literal home of terrible peace treaties — was a good idea?”

Los Angeles Times: “Rubio, who also serves as the president’s national security advisor, has remained effectively mum since news of a preliminary peace deal was announced by the administration on Sunday.”

“His absence has drawn notice across foreign policy circles — not only because Rubio has served as chief architect of the administration’s global strategy thus far, but also because he has become one of the president’s most effective communicators, both at home and abroad.”

“President Donald Trump formally agreed an interim peace deal with Iran, shifting focus to the planned reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a complex 60-day negotiating period over Tehran’s nuclear program,” Bloomberg reports.

Politico: “Heading into the gathering, expectations were modest, as Trump officials and G7 allies hoped to avoid any major blow-ups over the dicey issues that have threatened international relationships in recent months — from Russia’s war in Ukraine to the conflict in Iran. The leaders sought to demonstrate that the world’s leading economies could still work together, while keeping Trump in the country until the very end.”

“That they did — an achievement far from guaranteed for the leaders of the world’s seven largest economies and democracies, convening at a lakeside resort in France during a moment of acute global uncertainty. And in the Trump era, it’s another example of how success often means avoiding the worst-case scenario rather than sweeping breakthroughs or concrete policy directives.”