While President Donald Trump has promised that gas prices would “drop like a rock” once conflict between the U.S. and Iran was over, prices remain higher than last summer amid a peace deal between the two countries. In a Wednesday Truth Social post, Trump blamed oil companies for the high prices.
“The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil,” said the president. “Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged.’ I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this. Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!”
Following Trump’s announcement in late February that the U.S. had joined Israel to attack Iran, oil prices began to rise globally. That was mainly due to Iran’s retaliatory blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a key transportation route for much of the world’s oil. Experts warned that a prolonged blockage of the strait could result in national U.S. gas prices getting close to $5 per gallon.
Prices as the pump in the U.S. have dropped slightly in recent weeks, according to AAA data. From the end of March through the start of June, average national gas prices were $4 per gallon or higher, and they dropped below $4 this month. Still, average national prices in the U.S. were close to $4 as of Wednesday, significantly higher than the $3.22 national average recorded by AAA last year.
As gas prices climbed higher over the spring, Trump’s approval rating sank lower. According to The Economist’s tracker of polling conducted by YouGov, his approval rating was up slightly Wednesday but his net approval was still hovering at -22.
“Only 16% of respondents reckon the Strait of Hormuz will remain open permanently,” The Economist noted. “And 54% said it was the wrong decision to go to war in the first place.”
NBC News said this week that the increased gas prices have resulted in higher monthly expenses for Americans, ranging from $20 to $300. It also noted Americans’ concerns about the strait as the U.S. and Iran continue to negotiate the details of the peace agreement, including the tricky issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
Over the weekend, tension in the Middle East resulted in a continued blockage of the strait, including fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. By Wednesday, NBC News reported that ships were sailing through the strait “under a new scheme by the U.N.’s shipping agency to evacuate vessels trapped there by the conflict.”
“Ships have already begun to pass under the plan,” an International Maritime Organization spokesperson said Wednesday, per NBC News. It did not provide details about the ships that have crossed.
U.S. crude oil closed at $73.21 Tuesday, NBC News said. They are coming down, but that’s 25% higher than they were at the start of 2026.
Regarding Trump’s claim that oil companies are to blame for gas prices remaining high in the U.S., the American Petroleum Institute – which represents all of the major U.S. oil and gas companies – said that it also wants prices to come down. However, API spokesperson Bethany Williams said in a statement cited by NBC News that “gasoline prices don’t move in lockstep with crude oil, especially during a major global disruption that is still affecting supply, refining and inventories.”
Additionally, NBC News said that the U.S. Department of Justice did not respond to an overnight request for comment on the president’s post.
There have also been reports that the Strait of Hormuz will be open to traffic but that Iran plans to charge fees for ships sailing through it. Trump addressed those reports in another Wednesday Truth Social post, calling them “troublemaking Fake News.”
He said: “NO TOLLS, NO INSURANCE COSTS, & NO OTHER CHARGES OF ANY KIND BEING SOUGHT OR RECEIVED BY IRAN ON SHIPS TRAVELING THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ.”
