THE IRAN TALKS: HOW THE ADMINISTRATION SEES THINGS NOW. In the last couple of days the Iran war has been going through another one of the up-and-down news cycles — in which some sort of resolution seems imminent and then not so imminent — that have become a familiar story. In this case, President Trump, who has seemed to want to rush good news into the conversation, on Saturday announced that “an agreement has been largely negotiated,” subject to a final OK by the U.S., Iran, and others, and that “final aspects and details of the deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly.”There quickly followed lots of leaks about what was in the deal. Nothing was terribly clear, but some reporting seemed to suggest Trump was getting ready to give away the store. Iran hawks, like Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz, reacted with alarm. “I am deeply concerned about what we are hearing about an Iran ‘deal,’ being pushed by some voices in the administration,” Cruz posted on Saturday. Praising Trump’s decision to attack Iran, Cruz added, “if the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’ — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium and develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake.”As such talk spread on Saturday night and Sunday morning, the administration sought to push back with some vigorous fact-checking. And so a senior administration official briefed reporters on what was happening — and not happening — from the U.S. point of view.