US gas prices hit $4.23 high as Hormuz fears drive oil surge

Lead

Average US gasoline prices have reached their highest levels in roughly four years, with multiple outlets reporting national figures ranging from just over $4.18 to $4.48 a gallon in recent days, as global oil benchmarks climbed well above $100 a barrel. Reporting from Al Jazeera, the BBC and The Guardian ties the increases to ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, following the start of US and Israeli military action against Iran on 28 February. Brent crude has been quoted at levels including about $111, $114.60 and as high as $117 a barrel across the coverage, remaining substantially above pre-conflict prices even after earlier dips linked to temporary pauses in fighting.

The American Automobile Association has been widely cited as the source for the pump-price data. One Al Jazeera report put the national average at $4.30 a gallon after a nearly 30-cent weekly rise, while another recorded $4.48. The Guardian separately reported a national average of $4.18, a later high of $4.23, and a further reading of $4.39, alongside a California average of $6.06. Year-earlier national averages were given as roughly $3.15 to $3.17 a gallon. One Guardian account stated that US consumers have paid an additional $21.7 billion to fill their tanks since 1 March.

Coverage Comparison

Al Jazeera’s reporting framed the price rises primarily around a mutual blockade dynamic, stating that Iran is blocking the Strait of Hormuz while the United States imposes a naval siege on Iranian ports. Those accounts quoted AAA on the weekly jumps and noted President Donald Trump’s public insistence that time remains on the US side in the standoff. One piece also recorded California prices above $6 a gallon and linked the energy spike to broader inflation and pressure on the president’s standing.

BBC coverage centred on oil-market movements and the prospect of a prolonged US blockade. It reported Brent crude reaching about $117 a barrel after accounts that President Trump had instructed aides to prepare an extended blockade of Iranian ports aimed at squeezing Iran’s economy. The BBC noted Iran’s stated intention to continue disrupting traffic through the strait in response, and it placed the current prices well above levels seen before the conflict, even after temporary declines following earlier ceasefire signals.

The Guardian’s multiple reports emphasised the connection to the wider war with Iran and its effect on global oil flows. They described the strait as effectively closed or all but closed, recorded US contemplation of an extended blockade, and highlighted that the United States remains a net oil exporter. One account carried remarks by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the country’s relative insulation; another quoted California Governor Gavin Newsom criticising the cost burden on consumers. Guardian pieces also detailed sharp drops in vessel transits through the strait and carried Trump’s social-media claims that Iranian leaders had described their country as in a “state of collapse” and sought rapid reopening of the waterway.

TASS reported comments from Iran’s ambassador to Belarus, Alireza Sanei, who characterised US statements about control of the strait as intended mainly for a domestic American audience and as an effort to influence energy prices. Sanei maintained that the strait remains under Iranian control.

Price and crude figures vary across the accounts, reflecting different days of measurement and sources, yet all place national gasoline averages above $4 and Brent well over the $100 mark. Causal language likewise differs in emphasis: some reports stress the Iranian blockade of the strait, others the US naval measures against Iranian ports, and still others the broader war itself.

Key Claims

• National average US gasoline prices have been reported between $4.18 and $4.48 a gallon in recent readings by Al Jazeera and The Guardian, with AAA repeatedly cited; California averages have been given as high as $6.06.
• Brent crude has risen above $100 a barrel, with specific figures of approximately $111, $114.60 and $117 reported across Al Jazeera, BBC and Guardian coverage.
• Average US fuel prices a year earlier stood near $3.15–$3.17 a gallon, according to Guardian reporting.
• The Strait of Hormuz, normally handling about one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies, has been severely restricted or effectively closed for weeks amid the conflict that began 28 February, as described by Al Jazeera, BBC and The Guardian.
• The United States is preparing or contemplating an extended naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to BBC and Guardian accounts that reference Wall Street Journal reporting on Trump’s instructions to aides.
• The United States is a net exporter of oil, a point made in Guardian coverage.
• US consumers have paid $21.7 billion more for gasoline since 1 March, according to a Guardian report citing GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that fuel prices would be higher—projecting $8 or $9 a gallon—if Iran possessed a nuclear weapon, as reported by The Guardian.
• Iranian Ambassador to Belarus Alireza Sanei said US statements about control of the strait are for domestic consumption and aimed at regulating energy prices, according to TASS.
• The Iranian economy faces a deepening crisis, a characterisation appearing in BBC and Guardian reporting.
• President Trump’s approval ratings are at record lows amid discontent over the conflict, according to Al Jazeera.

Perspectives

US officials have presented the elevated prices as a manageable cost of the campaign. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, quoted by The Guardian, described the United States as “very fortunate” to be a net oil exporter and therefore more insulated than many other countries, while arguing that a nuclear-armed Iran could close the strait with far greater consequences. President Trump, in statements carried by Al Jazeera, the BBC and The Guardian, has maintained that time favours the United States, claimed Iranian leaders acknowledged a “state of collapse,” and indicated preparation for a prolonged blockade rather than immediate escalation or withdrawal.

Iranian diplomatic commentary, relayed by TASS, rejects the premise of US control. Ambassador Alireza Sanei argued that American assertions about the strait serve internal political purposes and an effort to manage domestic energy prices, while insisting the waterway remains under Iranian authority.

At the state level, California Governor Gavin Newsom, cited by The Guardian, has criticised the price surge as “Donald Trump’s Iran war tax” borne by drivers, grocery shoppers and travellers. Consumer and market analysts quoted across the outlets have pointed to sustained upward pressure for as long as the strait remains constrained, alongside warnings that higher energy costs could eventually spread into other household necessities.