Gas Prices Hit $3.54 a Gallon and Climbing — Here’s What Iran Did to Your Wallet in Two Weeks
By Harshit
WASHINGTON, MARCH 11, 2026 — Two weeks ago, the average American was paying somewhere around $2.92 a gallon for regular gas. That number feels like a different era. On Wednesday morning, the national average tracked by AAA stood at $3.54 — a jump of more than 60 cents in barely a fortnight, driven almost entirely by one thing: the U.S.-Israel war on Iran and the shutdown of the most important oil shipping corridor on earth.
It is the fastest fuel price spike in years, and by most forecasts, it is not finished yet.
The war began February 28 with joint American and Israeli strikes on Iran. Within days, tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s daily oil supply normally flows — ground to a halt as shipping companies refused to risk their vessels in an active war zone. With Iranian production and export disrupted and the Strait effectively closed, crude oil prices surged. West Texas Intermediate, which was trading near $67 a barrel before the war, pushed toward $97 on Monday and briefly crossed $100 on Sunday before pulling back.
Retail gas prices follow crude oil with about a one-to-two week lag, which means the worst of the pump price increases from last week’s oil surge has not yet shown up at stations nationwide. Energy analysts have been consistent in their warning: if crude stays elevated, Americans could be looking at $4-a-gallon gas within days.
What makes this particularly damaging politically is the context. In his State of the Union address just days before the war launched, Trump pointed to gasoline as a signature achievement of his second term, noting the national average had fallen to $2.92. His campaign promise was gas below $2 a gallon. That was already a stretch before the war. Now the gains his administration spent 13 months building have been wiped out entirely in less than two weeks.
Asked about the surge Monday, Trump brushed it off. “It’s a little glitch,” he told ABC News. “I think it’s fine. We had to take this detour.” That answer has not gone over well. A poll released by NBC News over the weekend found that on the question of inflation and cost of living, only 36 percent of registered voters approved of Trump’s handling — his worst marks in that survey. On Iran specifically, 54 percent disapproved.
Democrats in Congress moved quickly. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on the administration to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — the government’s emergency stockpile of crude — to take pressure off pump prices. Senators Mark Kelly and Richard Blumenthal introduced the Gas Prices Relief Act of 2026, which would suspend the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon through October 1. A companion bill was introduced in the House.
Republicans largely held firm. “The public understands the necessity of what we’re doing,” said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a forward-looking assurance: once the military objectives of Operation Epic Fury are achieved, she said, “Americans will see oil and gas prices drop rapidly, potentially even lower than they were prior to the start of the operation.”
Energy analysts are less confident. Ian Bremmer, founder of Eurasia Group, told CBS News he expects the national average to hit $4 per gallon within the coming week and to hover around that level for some time. “Americans feel the impact of higher gas prices every week when they fill their car tank,” he said. “It’s something everyone sees and feels that’s meaningful and will play through to other prices as well.”
J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s chief global strategist warned clients that even if the Strait of Hormuz reopened relatively soon, gas prices could remain elevated through the fall because summer driving demand seasonally pushes prices higher regardless of the crude market. A University of Texas petroleum engineering professor added that damage to Iran’s refining and processing facilities could extend supply disruptions well past the end of active fighting.
Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy put it plainly: every day the conflict continues, he said, could add several more weeks to the recovery timeline. The path from $2.92 back down to where it was is getting longer by the day.