On Tuesday morning, President Trump told CNBC he did not want to extend the ceasefire with Iran. Yet on Tuesday afternoon, he extended it.

Contradiction is the art of the deal. So it is no wonder that the entire war has been conducted this way.

On 28 February, the United States and Israel struck Iran. At first, the President said the operation would take four weeks or less. Then four to five weeks. Then “whatever it takes.”

A week into the operation, Trump demanded unconditional surrender. By mid-March, he told NPR that did not actually require Iran to say it had surrendered.

Trump also called for regime change, citing Venezuela as his model. He demanded a say in choosing Iran’s next leader. Then he said regime change was “up to the Iranian people.”

Finally, he claimed regime change had already happened because the old leaders were dead and the new ones were “very reasonable.”

Analysts called the new leadership more radical, not less.

Similarly, the Commander-in-Chief demanded NATO allies send warships to open the Strait of Hormuz, claiming “numerous countries” were on their way. A day later, most allies had refused. Yet the day after that, he said he did not need their help anyway.

The President then claimed Iran wanted to make a deal. But Iran said no such talks were taking place. Despite this, Trump postponed his ultimatum on the Strait, citing “very good and productive conversations,” which Iran’s state media said had not occurred.

On 1 April, the White House published a document titled “President Trump’s Clear and Unchanging Objectives Drive Decisive Success Against Iranian Regime.” Despite the date, it was not an April Fool’s Day joke. Still, it was almost funny.

A ceasefire was eventually agreed on 8 April, but it did not include Lebanon. And so, Israel then launched its heaviest attacks on Lebanon since the war began. Iran closed the Strait again in response.

A US naval blockade of Iran followed, which, by any ordinary reckoning, is an act of war. But the US administration maintains it is not a ceasefire violation.

Meanwhile, back in Wellington, officials are trying to form a position on all this.

But to have a position, you first need to know what is happening. And to know what is happening, you need Washington’s statements to last longer than the time it takes to read them.

At the pump, New Zealanders are paying over $3.40 a litre.

That, at least, is consistent.