As of recently, have you looked at gas prices and been shocked at the price spike in the past week? Well, that’s no coincidence. Gas prices have been surging throughout the country because of a recent conflict in Iran.

On Feb 28th, 2026, President Donald J. Trump initiated a major military campaign with Israel against Iran in which he launched a surprise barrage of airstrikes on multiple sites and cities across Iran, killing their supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. The reason for this attack was initiated by a combination of escalating nuclear threats and failure of diplomatic negotiations.

But how does this affect the gas prices, you may ask. Iran is a major global crude oil producer that produces around 3.3 million barrels per day. Iran primarily uses the Strait of Hormuz as its key waterway trade route for exporting crude oil. This critical passage handles nearly 20% of the world’s oil supply, and around 90% of Iran’s oil exports pass through it. 

Since the start of the conflict, the Strait has been effectively closed. As of March 21, a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, which was $108.84, has soared to roughly $120 a barrel since the outbreak of hostilities. The basis for U.S. crude oil was at $95.61 per barrel. 

Millions of Americans are devastated by seeing their local gas stations showing very high prices. This has been surfacing on social media platforms, causing a lot of chaos online and publicly, and creating issues in the US. Many Americans with divided political views support the issue, while many stand against it.

Ultimately, most Americans expect the prices to rise and can deal with it, but others are suffering from the state of their financial situation. Until the Strait of Hormuz reopens and gets back to its stability, Americans will continue to pay a very high price for a war being fought thousands of miles away.

Written by seniors Sofia Martinez and Jacob Kalecki. Edited by staff writers for Oswego East’s online news magazine The Howl.