Iran conflict roils markets: Investors debate best- and worst-case scenarios
A ‘Barron’s Roundtable’ panel analyzes the Iran conflict, its impact on crude prices and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
As gas prices surge while the U.S. wages war against Iran, President Donald Trump suggested in a Sunday Truth Social post that the short-term rise is a "small price" for peace.
"Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!" the president declared in the post.
Americans have been facing rising gas prices at home as the U.S. attacks the Islamic nation..
CRUDE OIL PRICES EXCEED $100 A BARREL AS WAR IN IRAN DISRUPTS PRODUCTION, SHIPPING
President Donald Trump monitors military operations during Operation Epic Fury against Iran on March 2, 2026. (The White House via X Account/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The AAA national average price for a gallon of regular gas is $3.478 as of Monday, significantly higher than average one week ago of $2.997.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., highlighted rising fuel prices amid the war in a Sunday post on X, and said that "waging war costs American taxpayers about $1 billion per day," asserting, "This isn’t America First."
Rep. Thomas Massie questions Attorney General Pam Bondi during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 11, 2026. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Trump, an outspoken critic of Massie, is backing challenger Ed Gallrein in the Republican primary in Massie's congressional district.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has called for the president to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help tackle the price surge.
TRAVEL IS ABOUT TO GET MORE EXPENSIVE AS IRAN CONFLICT SPARKS JET FUEL CRUNCH
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer speaks to the media at the U.S. Capitol on March 3, 2026. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
TRAVEL IS ABOUT TO GET MORE EXPENSIVE AS IRAN CONFLICT SPARKS JET FUEL CRUNCH
"The Strategic Petroleum Reserve exists for moments exactly like this," Schumer said in a statement. "When wars and global crises disrupt energy markets, the United States has the ability to act, but President Trump and his administration are refusing to do so. Trump should release oil from the SPR now to stabilize markets, bring prices down, and stop the price shock that American families are already feeling thanks to his reckless war."
