Oil executives reportedly have warned the Trump administration that the Iran war is likely to cause global energy prices to skyrocket in the coming weeks, contrary to promises from right-wing media figures that the conflict will actually lower fuel costs or that any rise would be short-lived.
According to Politico, Iran’s ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz “is steadily draining inventories to levels that are likely to send global energy prices surging in the next several weeks” in “what has become the biggest disruption in crude oil flows ever.” Politico reported the White House has “denied that any senior members of staff have been warned privately by the industry about inventories.”
Ever since President Donald Trump and Israel launched an unprovoked attack against Iran on February 28, conservative pundits have downplayed the financial strain that the war has put on Americans. Now, the risks of a global energy crisis have become more acute, but the story from right-wing media is largely the same.
On March 12, Fox News host Sean Hannity sought to reassure his radio audience that any pain at the pump would be transitory.
“There's going to be a little bit short-term disruption of the oil markets that will be handled expeditiously,” Hannity said. “I know that's a top priority for the president. I know it's inconveniencing.”
On March 19, Hannity criticized media coverage of “what will be — I can say with 100% certainty — a temporary spike in oil prices and then probably a massive reduction.”
Prices remained high as the war ground to a stalemate, but Hannity was undeterred, arguing on May 11 that “gas prices will stabilize” before the midterms in November.
Hannity is far from alone. On May 21, Fox News host Laura Ingraham said the public’s negative perception of the economy was “mostly attributable to one issue and it's temporary: gasoline prices. The war in Iran will be over soon and energy costs will come down.”
Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen, who has reportedly advised the White House on the war, dismissed the higher costs as a blip, framing them instead as a noble burden worth shouldering.
“If we cannot accept a few months of higher inflation and a few months of higher gas prices in order to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, we're not a superpower anymore,” Thiessen said.
Over at Newsmax, anchor Greg Kelly similarly downplayed the public’s concern over rising gas prices, referring to it as a form of “hysteria” that was “artificial.” Kelly added:
On May 11, the Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro, a major Iran war hawk, offered the same reassurance. “Of course, gas prices are up during the Iran war, and then they will go wildly down once the Iran war is over,” he said. “That seems like a pretty sure thing.”
Fox’s Mark Levin, another leading Iran war booster, appealed to a supposedly bygone era of shared sacrifice. Critics of the war were “using … the cost of a gallon of gasoline like this is the end all and be all. And I just remember stories about World War II and how the American people sacrificed a lot to win a war.”
Levin and his cohort might want to look at the lives of everyday people in the United States, who are certainly suffering and sacrificing as a result of the war they support. Higher gas prices are straining community services as well, including food pantries.
Beyond crude oil, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has also led to global shortages in fertilizer, which in turn is threatening the world’s food supply. Farmers in the United States are feeling the squeeze already, in some cases passing on the higher costs to their customers.
The greatest costs of the war have been felt by the people in Iran and Lebanon, whom Israel has been bombing since March 2, including during the conflict’s halting ceasefires. Estimates of the death toll from the conflict place the number killed in Iran and Lebanon north of 6,000.
