When Secretary of State Marco Rubio took to the lectern of the White House press briefing room on Tuesday, he seemed to revel in serving as the administration\u2019s chief spokesman of the day.<\/p>\n
He smiled, joked and jabbed gently at reporters, calling on them by the color of their blazers. He took on a range of questions on topics from rising gas prices to Cuba to his upcoming visit with the pope. He invoked the lyrics of \u201990s hip-hop songs to describe U.S. adversaries.<\/p>\n
And when it came to the war in Iran, or Operation Epic Fury as President Trump branded it in February when the United States joined Israel in striking the country, Mr. Rubio confidently described the state of play in a conflict whose status has been increasingly muddy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe operation is over,\u201d Mr. Rubio declared. \u201cEpic Fury is \u2014 as the president notified Congress \u2014 we\u2019re done with that stage of it. We\u2019re now on to this Project Freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n
The current American effort in the Strait of Hormuz, he explained, was focused on providing humanitarian support for civilian crews stranded on ships. He spoke emphatically about the desire for peace with Iran and liberation for its people, indicating that the conflict was moving into a new phase.<\/p>\n
But as most things go in Mr. Trump\u2019s orbit, what appeared definitive was fleeting.<\/p>\n
Just three hours later, the president announced that Project Freedom, the day-old mission he announced on Sunday to help guide ships out of the strait, would be paused \u201cfor a short period of time.\u201d <\/p>\n
Then on Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump suggested in a social media post that the war was not, in fact, over. Only if \u201cIran agrees to give what has been agreed to,\u201d he wrote, the \u201clegendary Epic Fury will be at an end.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they don\u2019t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,\u201d Mr. Trump added.<\/p>\n
It was the administration\u2019s latest U-turn in what has been a stream of chaotic and confusing messages about the U.S. posture and its objectives in the war.<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s constant turns have roiled the markets<\/a>, tested the patience<\/a> of Republican lawmakers and bewildered U.S. allies trying to navigate<\/a> the fallout of the conflict.<\/p>\n