US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has argued that the United States is in a “very fortunate” position as petrol prices continue to climb nationwide, spurred by disruption from the US-Israel war on Iran. Average US fuel prices have now reached nearly $4.50 per gallon, their highest level in four years, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
Asked on Tuesday how long Americans should accept such prices, Rubio noted that other countries were suffering “big time” from the disruption. He said the US, as a net exporter of oil, is less reliant on Middle Eastern supplies and thus “insulated to some degree”. However, he acknowledged the country remains “vulnerable, to some extent, to global prices”.
Global oil prices have surged since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February. The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquid gas supplies normally pass, has been all but closed, causing vast economic disruption worldwide. A year ago, average US petrol prices were just under $3.17 per gallon, compared with $4.48 today.
From the early days of the war, American motorists have expressed anger at the rising costs. Kevin Dass, an underemployed father of two in Detroit, told the Guardian in March: “I don’t give a shit about Iran. I don’t want to pay higher gas.”
Rubio also projected that prices would be even higher – around $8 or $9 per gallon – if Iran had possessed nuclear weapons and decided to close the strait. “A nuclear-armed Iran could do whatever the hell they want with the straits, and there’s nothing anyone would be able to do about it,” he said, though he did not cite evidence for the claim.
