Mike Baker

In exchange, Washington reportedly wanted two things.

First, Tehran would need to begin reducing its enriched uranium stockpile within 60 days.

And second, Tehran would have to agree to stop imposing tolls or restrictions on commercial vessels transiting the strait.

Iranian officials initially told mediators they needed only a few days to provide an answer.

Those few days turned into nearly two weeks.

Look, we've said it before here on the PDB, no government, nobody.

Slow rolls, negotiations, better than the Iranian regime.

It's their signature move.

During that time, U.S.

officials repeatedly warned that delays carried risks.

Negotiators feared that a military incident, a regional flare-up, or some other unexpected event could derail the diplomatic process before an agreement was finalized.

And that warning came true.

Over the last 10 days, tensions throughout the region steadily escalated.

Israel launched strikes in Beirut.

Iran responded with missile attacks against Israel.

Israeli aircraft then carried out strikes inside Iran itself.

And then came the Apache helicopter incident.

While U.S.

officials still have not determined whether Iran intentionally targeted the helicopter, the downing of an American military aircraft dramatically changed the political landscape in Washington.

According to Axios, White House officials believed failing to respond would make the U.S.