Three months after joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran started a war in the Middle East, the United States remains stuck in strategic limbo, with no clear resolution to the conflict in sight. Dueling U.S. and Iranian blockades have closed the Strait of Hormuz to nearly all maritime traffic, removing some 14 million barrels per day of Persian Gulf oil from world markets. Despite weeks of punishing airstrikes, the Islamic Republic remains intact and defiant. Diplomatic exchanges mediated by Pakistan are ongoing, and both American and Iranian officials have suggested that a deal is in the works. But the U.S. and Iranian negotiating positions remain far apart, not least because the United States continues to strike Iranian military targets amid the peace talks, with recent rounds of bombings earning threats of retaliation from Tehran. The situation with Iran is untenable—yet as badly as Trump needs and wants a deal to end the impasse, his own decisions continue to sabotage the bargaining process.…