President Donald Trump speaks during a health care affordability event in the Oval Office of the White House on April 23, 2026 in Washington.
Brandon Smialowski | AFP | getty images
President Donald Trump said Thursday that Americans should expect to pay higher gas prices “for quite a while” as a result of the Iran war, without giving a timeline.
But Trump said he is in no rush to reach a peace deal with Tehran, while claiming the war has had little impact on both stocks and arms. oil prices More than he expected.
“I have to be honest, the stock market is at an all-time high right now. I thought it would be down 20, 25 percent,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Trump had asked how long the war would last.
“I thought oil would probably go to $200 a barrel. And oil is a very different number than anyone thought,” Trump said. “In fact, this country has very little (compared to others) because we have all the oil we can use.”
Brent oil futures closed nearly 3% higher at $105.07 a barrel on Thursday. West Texas Intermediate futures closed nearly 3% higher at $95.85. Brent crude has risen from about $72 a barrel a day before the war began to about $120 a barrel.
Trump also said Thursday that temporarily higher prices would be rewarded by a final agreement that prevents Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, with which they would “try to blow up one of our cities or blow up the entire Middle East.”
Trump’s confident comments come as a majority of Americans say they have cut spending because of the pain at the pump, according to the latest CNBC All-America Economic Survey released Thursday morning.
A nationwide survey of 1,000 people found that nearly 80% had changed their spending habits in response to the pain at the pump. The survey was conducted from April 15 to 19 and had a margin of error of 3.1%.
According to AAA, gas prices have increased more than 30% since the war began, to $4 a gallon.
Most survey respondents also said they expect higher prices to last for at least six months.
Since the US and Israel first attacked Iran on February 28, the Trump administration has repeatedly said it expects the war to last about four to six weeks.
But now that the conflict is nearing the end of its second month, Trump has changed the timeline.
“I took the country out militarily. In the first four weeks, I took it out militarily. Now we’re sitting down and seeing what deal can be reached,” Trump said of Iran in the Oval Office.
He added, “And if they don’t want to make a deal, I will end it militarily along with the other 25% of the targets.”
He later said, “I don’t want to rush into it. I want to take my time.” “we have plenty of time.”
Trump has repeatedly claimed that Iran’s military, including its navy, has been destroyed. He has also stressed that the US has “complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed to Iranian attacks during the war and, more recently, to the blockade of Iranian ports by US naval forces in retaliation.
He claimed in Thursday remarks that he rejected Tehran’s proposal to reopen the strait because the blockade had put them under financial pressure to compromise.
“They could have opened it up three days ago,” Trump said of Iran. “They came to us and they said, ‘We will agree to open the straits.'”
He said, “That’s why I’ve kept it closed. We have complete control over it and it will open when they make a deal or something else happens which will be very positive.”