'If They Rise, They Rise': How the U.S.-Iran War Is Hitting Americans at the Gas Pump

It took less than two weeks for a military strike thousands of miles away to show up in your gas tank.

Since U.S. and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes against Iran on February 28, the national average price of gasoline has surged 34 cents — roughly 11 percent — to $3.32 per gallon, the highest level since September 2024. For a driver filling a 15-gallon tank, that's about five dollars more than it cost just a week ago.

The mechanism is familiar: conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil flows, has spooked energy markets. Global oil prices have jumped nearly 30 percent since the fighting began, and those increases move through the supply chain quickly, landing at the corner gas station within days.

The hit to diesel is sharper still. At $4.33 per gallon nationally — a level not seen since late 2023 — the fuel that powers America's trucks, trains, and freight network is becoming markedly more expensive. Economists say that pain will spread. When it costs more to move goods, businesses typically pass those costs along, meaning higher diesel prices today often translate into higher grocery bills next month.

For many households already stretched by elevated housing and food costs, the timing is difficult. And the political backdrop makes it more charged still.

President Trump, who made cheap energy a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign and promised gasoline below $2 per gallon, addressed the rising prices in a recent interview with characteristic brevity. "If they rise, they rise," he said. The remark landed poorly with critics, who noted that the national average is now higher than it was when Trump returned to office. Whether the conflict — and the market disruptions that come with it — proves short-lived will go a long way toward determining whether fuel costs become a defining issue of his second term.