WASHINGTON, July 22 -- On the eleventh straight night, US Central Command completed its strikes on Iran at 8:15 p.m. Eastern Time, and within hours, the American diplomat responsible for the peace effort declared that Iran is not serious about making one. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's blunt assessment, delivered to reporters on Tuesday, arrived after US aircraft struck Iranian targets including aircraft hangars, drone storage and operations centres, maritime capability installations, and logistics nodes.

The timing was not coincidental. After eleven nights of strikes and no movement in back-channel talks brokered through Omani and Qatari intermediaries, Washington's patience with the diplomatic frame appears to be running short, thoug...