War-related oil squeeze a ‘short-term pain,’ US official insists

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s top energy official said Sunday that Americans will have to endure the “short-term pain” of higher prices at the pump as US forces conduct their war against Iran.

Now in the third week of a multi-dimensional Middle East conflict that has seen US and Israeli forces pound Iran’s military targets, and Tehran responding with missile and drone attacks against several neighboring states, global energy prices have soared.

And concern has swelled that a lengthy blockage by Iran of the critical Strait of Hormuz could send crude prices through the roof.

“President Trump needed to act now… to stop the killing of American soldiers, to stop the destabilization of the region, and to end Iran’s ability to threaten energy markets,” US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told ABC News talk show “This Week.”

He said economic conditions would grow dramatically worse without the ongoing military operation “to defang the Iranian regime” and ensure it can no longer threaten the world with nuclear weapons.

READ MORE: Trump says Iran ‘totally defeated’

“This is short-term pain to get through to a much better place where the Middle East can no longer be held hostage by the one rogue nation in Iran,” Wright added.

The energy secretary also said he predicted the war could end “in the next few weeks, and we’ll see a rebound in (fuel) supplies and a pushing down of prices after that.”

Since the war began, gas prices have soared in the United States, where Trump in 2024 campaigned relentlessly on a vow to lower fuel costs for Americans. The issue is a critical one for US voters, who head to the polls in November for the country’s mid-term congressional elections.

Gas prices have jumped 25 percent in the past month, to $3.70 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.

The Trump administration has stressed other governments should help in a possible effort to unblock the Strait of Hormuz by escorting tankers through the narrow waterway along Iran’s coast.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, speaking on Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures,” said oil could soon flow through the strait if such escorts – and shipping insurance – are worked out.

“Could be day, could be a week,” Duffy said of possible escorts.