Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the conflict could likely last for several more weeks, though he described the administration's 'worst-case' scenario as seeing it wrapped up in the immediate days ahead. He stated that disruptions to the U.S. oil supply would last 'weeks' not 'months.' Wright acknowledged the uncertainty, noting there are no guarantees in wars.
President Donald Trump said he wasn't open to ending the war just yet, claiming Iran wants to make a deal but he doesn't want to because the terms aren't good enough. He declined to lay out his terms for a potential peace agreement in public.
I would pay no attention to what Iran says, but, there is a lot of energy that flows through the Strait of Hormuz. And depending upon the timing and the manner upon which this conflict comes to an end, we're going to see some elevated pricing until we get there.
The U.S. and Iran failed to reach a deal after holding peace talks in Pakistan over the weekend. Meanwhile, U.S. Central Command announced plans to implement a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports, which went into effect Monday morning.
On energy prices, Wright said gas prices could start to fall by this summer, but admitted that would be an 'aggressive timeframe.' He predicted oil prices could rise further before dropping. President Trump expects gas and oil prices to be the same 'or maybe a little bit higher' through the midterm elections in November.
You never know exactly the timeframe of this, but in the worst case this is a weeks, this is not a months thing.
The national average gas price hit $4.118 per gallon Tuesday, according to the American Automobile Association, after surpassing $4 for the first time since 2022 about two weeks ago. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said gas prices are expected to increase this week.
Military objectives for the war remain undefined, as the Trump administration still hasn't laid out the parameters by which it is judging whether its military objectives have been completed. Whether American forces will be deployed to the region remains unclear. Republicans briefed on the administration's plans in Congress have only ruled out a large-scale invasion, but not a limited troop presence.
There's no guarantees in wars at all. This is short-term pain to get through to a much better place.
White House and Cabinet officials continue to insist that the U.S. Navy will soon be able to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In the very long term, definitely, this will reset prices down. But we're going to see energy prices, you know, high and maybe even rising, until we get the ships, meaningful ship traffic, through the Straits of Hormuz. That'll probably hit the peak oil price at that time. That's probably sometime in the next few weeks.
It depends how the conflict goes, but it's a very real possibility.
Iran wants to make a deal, and I don't want to make it because the terms aren't good enough yet.