Oil pumpjacks in the Inglewood Oil Field near Los Angeles on March 10.
Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Last month, President Donald Trump took time during his State of the Union address to brag about plummeting gas prices during his tenure, claiming that some Americans were paying as little as $1.99 a gallon at the pump. But the tone of the Trump administration’s messaging has shifted drastically in recent weeks as the nation grapples with increasing gasoline prices stemming from the ongoing military conflict in Iran.
As of Tuesday, the average price for a gallon of regular gas stands at about $3.54 a gallon nationally, which is an increase of about 40 cents from last week, according to motor club AAA. CNBC reports that the figure marks the highest prices for gas seen since 2024. But as U.S. military involvement in Iran enters its second week, Trump has insisted that the rising prices will be temporary and ultimately be worth it once the conflict ends.
“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!,” he wrote on TruthSocial Monday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed this message during a press briefing Tuesday. “Rest assured to the American people, the recent increase in oil and gas prices is temporary and this operation will result in lower gas prices in the long term,” she said.
The Washington Post reports that the price of Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, had risen as high as $120 a barrel on Monday before settling around $90 Tuesday morning. There are few signs that that volatility in gasoline and oil prices will end anytime soon, considering the conflict in Iran has shown no signs of abating amid new threats from Trump that would likely extend U.S. involvement overseas.
The president is now trying to take matters into his own hands in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway and pivotal trade route between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, following early warnings from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard that any ships traversing the strait could be attacked. One-fifth of the global oil supply is transported through the strait.
While Trump has expressed support for Navy escorts for oil tankers through the strait, he also leveled serious threats at Iran. “If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far. Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!,” Trump said on social media Monday.
Trump then said that if Iran doesn’t remove mines it had reportedly placed in the Strait, “the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before.” He followed up his missive with the news that the U.S. had hit or destroyed ten inactive mine-laying vessels with the president promising there was “more to follow!”
For a brief moment earlier on Tuesday, it appeared that the Trump administration had taken another major step. Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed on social media that the U.S. Navy “successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets.” But the secretary quickly deleted the post as the Trump administration clarified that the U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or vessel to date.
