A 60-day deadline for Iran to make a nuclear deal with the threat of US military force looms as President Donald Trump says he hopes for a deal even with Iran’s leadership remaining defiant and Israel pushing for military action.

The US president often makes public threats of a return to all-out war, only to later pull back dramatically. Then come grand statements – and yet no resolution emerges.

The prospect of a breakthrough agreement between the United States and Iran appears closer than at any point since the conflict erupted earlier this year. Yet as officials on both…