A provisional deal apparently includes Iran “committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment.” The U.S. would lift sanctions against the regime and release billions of dollars worth of otherwise frozen assets in return.

Both sides would then commit to facilitating the transport of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital naval corridor in the region that Iran has effectively shuttered since the conflict began, sending global energy prices soaring.

But Axios writes that “many of the terms laid out in the memo would be contingent on a final agreement being reached.” This leaves open “the possibility of renewed war,” or “an extended limbo in which the hot war has stopped but nothing is truly resolved.”

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed those sentiments Tuesday, stating the situation remains “highly complex and technical,” and bizarrely quoting hip-hop outfit Cypress Hill to suggest many among the top Iranian leadership are “insane in the brain.” (To the uninformed, that's officialese diplomatic talk)

The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from from ordinary hypocrisy: they are deliberate exercises in doublethink.