Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has promised that 'help is on the way' as gas prices across the United States creep toward $4.50 a gallon. The pinch at the pump has worsened over recent months since war began in Iran, with additional concern as the battle over the Strait of Hormuz rages on.
Bessent's Assurance
Bessent promised that prices, which currently sit at $4.46 a gallon—up from $3.17 at this time in 2025—will start to drop. 'Help is on the way as of today,' Bessent told Fox News on Monday. 'The way to think about it is the market, because of the conflict around the strait, is in deficit about ten million barrels a day, between eight [million] and ten million barrels a day right now.'
He went on to say that President Donald Trump's attempt to assist US ships in passing through the strait will help grow the oil supply. 'So, every crew carrier that goes through has about 2 million barrels, so four or five crew carriers a day coming through, of the pent-up demand, we think they're more than 150, 200 crew carriers that can come out,' Bessent claimed. 'So, I think the market's going to be very well supplied.'
OPEC and UAE Contributions
Bessent also cited the United Arab Emirates and OPEC promising to pump more crude oil. 'I am confident on the other side of this, the world's gonna be awash in oil. The UAE has come out of OPEC, they're going to be pumping more. We're the number one energy super power in the world and we have never delivered so much crude.'
Short-Term Blip
He also suggested the bounce in prices was 'a short-term blip' and other factors indicated the economy is strong under Trump. 'The conflict will end. If we look at the stock market — what does the stock market see right now? The stock market is looking through this. Corporate earnings are good. Employment is good. And this gasoline, this temporary aberration, will be over in a matter of weeks or a month,' he said.
Trump's Response to Iranian Attacks
Trump today confirmed Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, hours after Tehran launched a series of missile and drone attacks on the UAE. Tehran launched four missiles at a US-backed Middle Eastern ally on Monday, blowing up a major oil port following the President's move to reopen the Strait. Trump later threatened to 'blow Iran off the face of the earth' if US warships and commercial vessels continue to be targeted.
Both sides have repeatedly rejected the others' terms for a peace deal, locking both Iran and the US into a geopolitical stalemate. Earlier, Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social: 'Iran has taken some shots at unrelated Nations with respect to the Ship Movement, PROJECT FREEDOM, including a South Korean Cargo Ship. Perhaps it's time for South Korea to come and join the mission! We've shot down seven small Boats or, as they like to call them, 'fast' Boats. It's all they have left.'
'Other than the South Korean Ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, will have a News Conference tomorrow morning.'
Attack on UAE Oil Port
Trump's statement comes after he last night pledged to send American warships to 'guide' commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, and only hours after the UAE said Iran attacked one of its petroleum industrial sites with drones and missiles. The Iranian attack on the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone caused a fire to break out, officials said. 'Fujairah Civil Defence teams immediately responded to the incident and are continuing their efforts to control it,' the Fujairah media office said in a statement. Fujairah is home to a major port, pipeline and other petroleum-based installations bypassing the throttled Strait of Hormuz.
The President wrote on social media Sunday that they would work to free ships caught in the waterway. 'For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business,' Trump said.
Geopolitical Implications
Breaking Iran's chokehold on the strait would ease global economic concerns and deny Iran a major source of leverage. But such efforts also risk reigniting the full-scale fighting that erupted when the US and Israel first attacked Iran on Feb. 28, prompting it to close the strait. Shipping companies, and their insurers, are unlikely to take such a risk, given that Iran has fired on ships in the waterway and vowed to keep doing so.
Iran has said the new US effort is a violation of the fragile ceasefire that has held for more than three weeks. Iran's effective closure of the strait, which runs between Iran and Oman, has caused a spike in worldwide fuel prices and rattled the global economy. The US-led Joint Maritime Information Center had advised ships Monday to cross the strait in Oman's waters, saying it had set up an 'enhanced security area.'
