If it feels as though Washington and Tehran have been on the verge of a deal before, it’s because they have. At least 38 times during the months of negotiations to end the war in Iran, President Trump has suggested that an agreement was within reach, only for new disputes, military escalations, or competing narratives to push the finish line further away. Diplomacy has unfolded against a backdrop of strikes and counterstrikes, threats of wider conflict, and cease-fires that Trump has defined as