I was watching the CNBC clip when the exchange landed: a calm host, a measured economist, and a sentence that sounded like permission to ignore pain. The studio lights didn’t hide the fact that millions of Americans were suddenly paying more at the pump. You feel the dissonance when policy talk treats your grocery bill as an afterthought.
Becky Quick pressed Hassett on rising gas prices — live on CNBC.
I’ve watched these interviews enough to know the cadence of reassurance. Kevin Hassett, introduced as President Trump’s chief economic adviser, insisted the conflict with Iran would be a short one — he said 4–6 weeks — and that the U.S. economy is “fundamentally sound.” You heard the confidence; you also heard what he didn’t prioritize.
He argued Iran miscalculated if it thought it could force policy changes by squeezing energy flows. He pointed out the U.S. is a net exporter of oil. That’s factually true, but it glosses over one simple structural reality: The Strait of Hormuz is an artery of global energy.
Why are gas prices rising after the Iran war?
Because roughly 20% of global oil moves through that chokepoint, and when shipping slows the world market reprices risk instantly. Prices at the pump reflect a global market, not just barrels produced on U.S. soil. The average U.S. retail price right now is $3.79 (€3.49) per gallon, up from $2.90 (€2.67) just before hostilities escalated on Feb. 28, according to AAA.
Delta and American Airlines are already spelling out the toll in dollars.
Ed Bastian at Delta told Reuters that fuel costs surged, and the company took a hit of about $400 million (€368 million) in March alone. American Airlines reported a similar $400 million (€368 million) hit for the quarter. Those are corporate line items now, but they become sticker shock for you later: higher fares, reduced routes, and pressure on delivery costs for goods.
Will gas prices keep rising?
I won’t pretend to predict markets, but the drivers are clear: how long shipping through Hormuz is impaired, whether insurers and shippers reroute, and how long producers can—or are willing to—offset lost flows. If the conflict extends, expect sustained upward pressure on fuel and freight, which then works its way into consumer prices.
Some countries are already talking about rationing; others have acted.
Sri Lanka has begun gas rationing, and outlets in the UK and Australia are openly discussing the measure, Reuters and regional reporting show. When governments move toward allocation, it’s because market mechanisms alone are failing a public that needs fuel for daily life.
Hassett: “If the war were to be extended, it wouldn’t really disrupt the US economy very much at all. It would hurt consumers, and we’d have to think about what we’d have to do about that, but that’s really the last of our concerns right now.”
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 17, 2026 at 4:53 AM
Washington’s framing makes you the last line on a policy checklist.
I’ll be blunt: Hassett’s line—calling consumer pain “the last of our concerns”—is a political judgment disguised as economic modeling. For Washington, the consumer has become a ledger left on the back shelf. That’s a choice, not a natural law.
Hassett also suggested President Trump and Xi Jinping will be aligned once the conflict ends, and hinted the U.S. might solicit fertilizers from Venezuela and Morocco as an alternative to supplies routed through Hormuz. He sidestepped where to source helium, even as industry reporting warns about a roughly 30% disruption tied to Qatar—helium that cools semiconductor wafers and supports chipmaking for AI and other industries (see Tom’s Hardware and Gasworld reporting).
Companies are already pricing the war into the ledger.
Airlines are telling investors and regulators they’ve absorbed hundreds of millions of dollars in fuel costs. Logistics firms will pass fuel surcharges to shippers; shippers will pass them to retailers; retailers will pass them to you. That chain is mechanical, and it is not invisible.
How long will the war affect gas prices?
Hassett gave a 4–6 week window; others give no timetable. The truth is conditional: if the Strait of Hormuz reopens quickly and markets have confidence, prices can moderate. If operations remain constricted, or if sanctions and countermeasures multiply, the pressure could last months. You should plan for the latter, while hoping for the former.
I’m not here to tell you how to vote. I am here to tell you what I see: policy rhetoric that treats consumer hardship as secondary, industries moving to protect margins, and a global supply chain fraying at a chokepoint. The question is not whether prices will rise — it’s how long you will have to pay for the cost of decisions made in rooms you don’t sit in; isn’t that worth asking?