New Delhi, April 7 -- ANOTHER WEEK, another deadline, another delay. On Sunday Donald Trump repeated his ultimatum for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its power plants. "Open the Fuckin' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell," he wrote, in what was surely the first profanity-laden presidential threat issued on Easter Sunday. The deadline, already pushed back twice, had been set for 8pm Washington time on Monday. Mr Trump has now (without explanation) delayed it another 24 hours, until Tuesday evening.

Then came the weekly hint of diplomacy-timed, as always, just before the markets opened. On Sunday night the administration told a journalist that it was making one more push for a ceasefire. The lat...