Trump says oil price spike is ‘very small price to pay for safety and peace’ as Iran war rages
President Donald Trump has claimed higher oil prices are a “very small price to pay” for global “peace and safety” as the Iran war rages.
Oil prices have surged since the U.S. and Israel launched joint military strikes on Iran just over a week ago, recording their largest one‑week spike since March 1983.
The increase showed no signs of abating Sunday, passing the $100-a-barrel milestone for the first time in more than three-and a-half years as the Iran war hinders production and shipping in the Middle East.
“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace,” the president wrote on Truth Social Sunday.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright acknowledged that Americans may feel pain at the gas pump “for weeks.”
“Gasoline today is still $1.50 a gallon cheaper than it was in the middle of the Biden administration,” Wright told CNN Sunday.
But he acknowledged that it was too high for Americans struggling with the cost of living. “We want it back below $3 a gallon. And it will be again before too long,” the energy chief said.
“What do you mean by too long?” asked CNN anchor Jake Tapper. “How much longer?”
“You never know exactly the time frame of this, but, in the worst case, this is a weeks, this is not a months thing,” Wright said.
Wright, the former CEO of fracking firm Liberty Energy, also suggested that the market’s underlying anxiety is not justified.
“You’re seeing a little bit of fear premium in the marketplace, but the world is not short of oil today or natural gas,” he said.
Trump has appeared blasé about the rise in gas prices since the conflict began. He acknowledged Tuesday that pump prices would be higher “for a little while.” By Thursday, his stance had hardened, as he told Reuters: “If they rise, they rise.”
Behind the scenes, the Trump administration is “looking under every rock for ideas on improving energy prices,” an unnamed industry executive told Politico this week.
The executive added that Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had been “screamed at” to find “good news.” The White House dismissed the story as “unverified gossip.”
