New Delhi, Aug. 2 -- there was no deal, and Iran's armed forces were "ready for any eventuality."

The contradiction placed the near-term trajectory of the longest American military campaign since Afghanistan into the hands of mediators who acknowledged they had not yet secured an agreement from either side. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world's daily oil supply passes, remained closed as both Washington and Tehran offered sharply different accounts of what had actually been agreed, and by whom.

Trump's post was unambiguous in its claims. "Based on this request, I have agreed. to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL," he wrote. He outlined the terms: an "Immediate, Complete, and Tot...