President Trump’s own energy secretary says the president knew gas prices would spike for months before he ordered strikes on Iran, and pushed ahead anyway.
Quick Take
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Trump was “well aware” energy prices would rise before the Iran war began.
- Gasoline prices jumped 34% within a week of the February strikes, with total added fuel costs topping $103 billion by late September.
- The Strait of Hormuz, which carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade, became the center of the crisis.
- Oil supplies have mostly recovered, but analysts say the market still carries a lasting risk premium.
Energy Secretary Confirms Trump Knew the Risks
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CBS News “Face the Nation” on October 4 that President Trump understood energy markets could suffer before he launched military action against Iran. Wright said Trump was “well aware of the risk to energy flows that were coming out of the Persian Gulf region”. Wright quoted the president telling advisers he had no choice, saying, “The world cannot sustain a nuclear-armed Iran, and I’m not going to do it.”
Wright said Trump accepted the trade-off directly, telling his team he knew prices would climb in the short run but considered stopping Iran’s nuclear program worth the cost. The comments mark one of the clearest admissions yet that the administration weighed economic pain against a security goal before acting, rather than discovering the energy fallout afterward.
What Americans Paid After the Strikes
The United States and Israel struck Iran on February 28, and oil prices jumped almost immediately. Within a week, American drivers were paying 34% more for gasoline as the flow of energy out of the Persian Gulf froze. By late September, the added cost of higher gas and diesel prices tied to the war had passed $103 billion, according to tracking cited by critics of the conflict.
The Strait of Hormuz sat at the center of the disruption. The narrow waterway normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas trade, making any slowdown there a direct hit to global supply and prices. Reuters commentary noted that Trump had publicly warned Americans in advance to brace for higher energy costs, acknowledging the pain even as he defended the strikes.
Markets Steady, But Risks Remain
Energy prices have eased in recent weeks. Oil volumes moving through the Strait of Hormuz have returned to nearly prewar levels, a sharp turnaround from the near-total shutdown seen earlier in the year. The Group of Seven nations also agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel from reserves to help calm prices after pressure from Washington, adding a buffer while shipping routes stabilized.
Even with supplies flowing again, analysts say the market has not fully relaxed. Reuters breakingviews warned the war would leave “lasting scars,” with traders likely to keep pricing in roughly $10 a barrel of extra risk in case fighting resumes. That means consumers could face elevated fuel costs for months, even without a new disruption.
Political Fallout Crosses Party Lines
Democratic critics have pointed to the price spikes as one of several reasons they opposed the strikes, arguing the administration moved ahead without congressional authorization while consumers absorbed the cost. Energy experts also noted that the administration’s push to limit wind and solar power left Americans with fewer alternative fuel sources, making households more exposed when Gulf supplies tightened.
The episode lands at a moment when voters on both sides already distrust Washington’s handling of energy costs and war powers. Whether viewed as a necessary trade-off against a nuclear-armed Iran or as an avoidable burden on household budgets, Wright’s admission confirms the price hikes were foreseen, not a surprise discovered after the fact.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that President Trump was "well aware of the risks to energy flows" before launching the war in Iran earlier this year, but argued "the world cannot sustain a nuclear-armed Iran." https://t.co/yuPclh1VKn
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 4, 2026
Congress has not announced new hearings on the war’s energy costs, and the White House has not issued a separate statement responding to Wright’s remarks beyond the CBS interview.
Sources:
cbsnews.com, politicalwire.com
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