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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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Gas prices have surged past $4 per gallon for the first time in more than three years, according to data from GasBuddy, as the war in Iran continues to disrupt global oil supplies.
As of 3:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, the U.S. national average price of regular gasoline was $4.015 per gallon, up more than one dollar from a month earlier ($2.972), and 90 cents from last year**’**s average ($3.114). In California, drivers are paying the highest prices across the nation for a statewide average of $5.870 per gallon of regular gasoline. Drivers in Oklahoma are paying the least, for a statewide average of $3.245 per gallon.
Why It Matters
Just over a month before the U.S. and Israel’s joint strikes on Iran on February 28, the Trump administration said it had delivered "big wins" for Americans, including bringing gas prices down to their lowest level since 2021. The White House said that falling gas prices were "putting real money back in Americans’ pockets."
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But Americans are now estimated to have spent an extra $8 billion in gasoline since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, according to calculations from GasBuddy.
It comes as Trump's approval rating has plummeted in a number of recent polls. According to the latest Fox News survey, 59 percent of voters said they disapproved of Trump’s job as president. A year earlier, the same poll found that 51 percent of voters disapproved of his handling of the presidency.
What To Know
Gas prices have not crossed $4 a gallon since August 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—and the ongoing conflict that followed—caused massive volatility in the global oil market. Within a few weeks, oil prices shot up by 50 percent, reaching beyond $100 a barrel, and gasoline surged from around $3.50 to $5 a gallon.
Similar disruptions have caused crude oil prices to soar over $100 a barrel following the start of the conflict in the Middle East, as Iran imposed a de-facto blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, where one fifth of the world’s oil normally transits. As a result, gas and diesel prices around the world—including the U. S.—have soared, causing pain at the pump for drivers.
While Trump and his administration have downplayed the impact of higher gas prices, for Americans already strained by the higher cost of housing this additional financial burden is significant. A group of economists, including researchers at Stanford University, recently calculated that the typical U.S. family will pay an extra $740 more in gas costs over the remainder of the year.
Higher gas prices are also turning into a political headache for the president and the Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections, as a majority (61 percent) of American voters disapproves of Trump’s handling of the Iran war, according to a recent Pew Research survey, with 59 percent saying the U.S. decision to use military force on the country was "wrong."
Crucially, 45 percent of respondents said the conflict was not going "too well" or "not at all well." while only 28 percent thought it was going "somewhat well" and 25 percent believed it was going "extremely well."
What People Are Saying
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, wrote on social media Monday night: "The national average has just reached $4/gal according to GasBuddy, the highest since August 8, 2022. The rise is now the largest monthly increase GasBuddy has ever recorded: $1.059/gal for gasoline, $1.701/gal for diesel."
White House spokesperson Kush Desai previously told Newsweek: "President Trump has always been clear about temporary disruptions as a result of Operation Epic Fury. While the U.S. Military continues making astonishing progress neutralizing the Iranian terror regime, the Trump administration remains focused here on the homefront implementing President Trump’s proven economic agenda of deregulation, tax cuts, and energy abundance.
"This agenda created historic prosperity in President Trump’s first term, and it’s again raising real wages and securing trillions in investments. After Operation Epic Fury’s objectives have been realized and the world is a safer place, America is set to achieve new highs."
President Donald Trump said during a press conference in the Oval Office on March 19 that he expected gas prices would be "much worse" after authorizing strikes in Iran, stating: "Everything was going great, the economy was great, oil prices were very low, and gasoline was dropping too. And I saw what was happening in Iran and I said, ‘I hate to make this excursion, but we’re going to have to do it,’ and I actually thought the numbers would be worse.
"I said, ‘You know, if I do that, oil prices will go up, and the economy will go down a little bit.’ I thought it would be worse, much worse. Actually, I thought there was a chance it could be much worse. It’s not bad, and it’s going to be over with pretty soon."
Vice President JD Vance called the rise in gas prices a "temporary blip," adding: "Look, gas prices are up, and we know they’re up, and we know that people are hurting because of it, and we’re doing everything that we can to ensure that they stay lower."
What Happens Next
While the Trump administration has taken steps to assuage the rise of gas prices, including waiving the Jones Act and releasing 172 million barrels of oil from the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), these have so far failed to stop their climb.
Experts believe that gas prices in the U. S.—and all across the world—will only come down once safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz is restored. But the Trump administration has been sending mixed messages about whether the crucial waterway will reopen or not anytime soon.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Al Jazeera on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz will "reopen one way or another." Trump told aides that he is willing to end the war without reopening the strait, according to Reuters.
For De Haan, this would not be a solution to soaring energy prices. Ending the war "while leaving Hormuz closed isn’t ‘peace,’ it’s surrendering the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, guaranteeing higher energy prices, economic shock, and long-term instability," he wrote on X on Tuesday.
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