Oil prices surge past $100 as Trump, Wright pledge decline after Iran threat contained
Brent crude hit $111.04 per barrel, highest since July 2022, amid Middle East tensions and reduced Gulf production following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
March 8, 2026
Oil prices surged sharply Saturday, with Brent crude climbing 20 percent to $111.04 per barrel—its highest level since July 2022—while West Texas Intermediate jumped 22 percent, as Middle East tensions and reduced production from Gulf nations drove markets higher.
The price increases followed U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran, which have disrupted regional energy supplies and raised concerns about tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route for petroleum.
President Donald Trump responded to the price spike by posting on Truth Social that oil costs would fall once the "Iranian nuclear threat is eliminated." Trump wrote: "Short-term oil prices, which will drop rapidly once the Iranian nuclear threat is eliminated, are a very small price to pay for the safety and peace of the U.S. and the world. Only fools would think otherwise! President DJT."
Energy Secretary Chris Wright offered a more measured timeline, telling CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that gasoline prices would dip below $3 a gallon "again before too long," characterizing the recent spike as a weeks-long phenomenon rather than a months-long one. Wright noted that current gas prices remain "$1.50 a gallon cheaper" than during the Biden administration.
The national average gas price stood at $3.45 per gallon as of Sunday, according to the American Automobile Association.
Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Wright said energy prices would begin to fall once the U.S. reduces Iran's ability to disrupt tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. "The plan is to get oil and natural gas and fertilizer and all the products from the Gulf flowing through the straits before too long," Wright said. "We're massively attriting their ability to strike with missiles and drones, and that rate of attrition will increase in the coming days. So we'll be cautious, we'll be careful, but energy will flow soon."
Wright stated that the Trump administration has achieved "quite successfully" lower energy prices overall, citing declines in gasoline and diesel costs, with electricity price reductions expected to follow. "We want it back below $3 a gallon. And it will be again before too long," he said.
Regarding military operations, Wright denied that the U.S. was targeting energy infrastructure in Iran, distinguishing between strikes on Iran's military capabilities and its oil production facilities.