Energy Secretary Chris Wright predicted Friday morning that gas prices will come down in a matter of “weeks, not months” following a surge due to the war in the Middle East.
“Look, Iran has been an escalator of energy prices [for] 47 years, the whole history of their regime,” Wright told “Fox & Friends.”
“We’ve got a little bit of an interruption right now, to finally put an end to their ability to wreak havoc, to kill Americans, and to terrorize their neighbors.”
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said it would be a while before gas prices decreased. Getty ImagesAccording to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas stands at $3.32 nationwide — up from $2.98 one week ago, before the start of Operation Epic Fury.
That’s the first time gasoline has jumped above $3 per gallon since November — a price surge that could spell trouble for President Trump and congressional Republicans as they tout their “affordability” message ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Tri-state drivers are slightly less affected by the surge. The average price of a regular gallon was $3.23 in New York, $3.20 in New Jersey, and $3.18 in Connecticut — up 22, 29, and 26 cents from Feb. 27, respectively.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Sunday showed a plurality of voters (45%) said they were more likely to oppose Operation Epic Fury if military action led to increased gas and energy prices in the US.
“We’ve got a little bit of an interruption right now, to finally put an end to their ability to wreak havoc, to kill Americans, and to terrorize their neighbors,” Wright said. ZUMAPRESS.comIn a phone interview with CNN, Trump echoed Wright’s optimism, saying the gas price spike would be “short-term” and “go way down, very quickly.”
President Trump said Tuesday that US Navy vessels would begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary to stabilize the global petroleum supply chain.
On Friday, Wright promised those convoys would start “as soon as it’s reasonable to do it.”
Tehran had announced the closure of the passage through the Persian Gulf and threatened to attack ships entering the strait through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply passes.
More than 20 million barrels passed through the strait every day in 2023, the most recent year forwhich records are available, per the US Energy Information Administration.
Trump claimed to CNN anchor Dana Bash that he had “already figured out” the problem of moving oil shipments through the strait.
“We’ve knocked their navy because, you know, when you knock out the navy, they can’t do what they wanted to be able to do,” he said. “The navy is almost, we just hit about the 25 mark. Can you imagine that? Big ones — 25 ships are down.”
Iran has also continued to carry out retaliatory strikes on oil-rich Gulf nations like the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
Prices at the pump increased after Operation Epic Fury was carried out. REUTERSTrump has indicated the conflict could last for four weeks or fewer, but other members of his administration have refused to put a timetable on how long the war could last.
Inflation cooled to 2.4% in January, though prices remain high for many household goods, according to the latest Consumer Price Index figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Fuel prices had also surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 — with crude oil prices rising to nearly $119 per barrel.
