New Delhi, Sept. 23 -- NEW YORK - When Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, he organized his remarks around a proposition for Iran that was equal parts ultimatum and timetable.

"Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world?" Trump asked the assembled leaders of 193 nations. "Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?"

The answer, he said, would come "right after the election."

That formulation turned an ongoing military conflict into an entry on a domestic political calendar. The Iran w...