DOHA, July 3 -- On Wednesday afternoon, as US and Iranian negotiators wrapped up two days of indirect talks in Qatar, President Trump told reporters that Iran had agreed to "just about everything we need" and that "the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well." Hours later, his vice president described a different conversation. "Obviously, we're worried about the nuclear issue," JD Vance told reporters. "We're going to start talking about that."

The two statements do not describe the same negotiation. Three weeks into the 60-day window established by the June 17 memorandum of understanding, US and Iranian technical teams in Doha spent their time on the Strait of Hormuz shipping regime and the release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian ...