Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) pushed back sharply Monday on reports that Iran has floated a new offer to resolve the current crisis — one that would lift the blockade and reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for deferring the harder questions about its nuclear program and support for terrorism.

Graham said he didn’t know how accurate the reporting was, but found it entirely believable — and entirely unacceptable.

“I understand why Iran would make that offer,” Graham wrote, which is another way of saying: of course a cornered regime would try to trade the one card it’s holding for breathing room, while leaving its core assets intact. The strait is leverage. The nuclear program is the prize. Handing back the leverage while keeping the prize is not a deal — it’s a stall.