The United States' stance on Iran is constantly changing and contradictory, leaving investors at a loss and causing market fluctuations.

The constantly changing statements made by the Trump administration regarding a potential war with Iran have left investors unable to interpret, causing the energy market to experience drastic fluctuations for the second consecutive day. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright mistakenly posted that the U.S. Navy had escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, causing oil prices to plummet. He later deleted this information. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt subsequently admitted that no such action had been taken. However, she stated that the U.S. military is "drafting more plans" to counter any attempts by Iran to block this key trade route. On Tuesday afternoon, Trump took to social media to deny reports by the Colombian news channel about U.S. intelligence finding Iran was laying mines in the waterway. He stated that the U.S. had not received any reports of Iran laying mines, but issued a warning to Tehran. "If Iran is found to have laid any mines in the Strait of Hormuz even though we have not received any reports of them doing so we demand that they be removed immediately!" Trump said. "If for any reason they have already laid mines and not removed them immediately, Iran will face military consequences of an unprecedented nature. On the other hand, if they remove any mines that may have been laid, it will be a huge step in the right direction!" Soon after, Trump claimed in a series of subsequent posts that the U.S. military would use its ability to permanently eliminate any attempts to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz, similar to how they have previously targeted drug trafficking ships in the Caribbean. He said that the U.S. had already destroyed 10 "inactive mine-laying ships and/or boats" in the past few hours. The misinformation from Wright on social media and Trump's public statements on high-risk hypothetical scenarios highlight the confusion and disarray felt by Washington and Wall Street observers since the conflict entered its 11th day. After the Energy Secretary's escort message, oil prices briefly plummeted by nearly 20%, with U.S. crude futures briefly dropping below $77 per barrel. However, as more information emerged, oil prices regained some lost ground.