Even without a formal agreement, Trump has considered declaring decisive victory and moving on. Secretary of State Marco Rubio went so far as to say earlier this week that the war was over. But doing so now would leave the conflict's goals, as outlined at various times by the president and his aides, unfulfilled. Yes, the Iranian navy has been largely destroyed. But Iran still possesses, by some estimates, more than half of its ballistic-missile capabilities. Its proxy groups, such as Hezbollah, are still fighting. There has not been real regime change. Its nuclear stockpile remains a threat, and there is no deal to dilute it or ship it out of the country. Iran will almost certainly leave the war with more control, either implicitly or explicitly, over the Strait of Hormuz than it enjoyed before the conflict, including knowing that it could again shutter the waterway and inflict global economic pain.

Trump wants the war to end. He wants a deal. But deals take two parties, and there's no evidence that Iran is interested in bailing Trump out of a dilemma of his own making.