Reuters reported on the 12th (local time) that President Donald Trump acknowledged the possibility that oil prices may not fall even by the upcoming U.S. midterm elections in November.

In an interview with Fox News that day, when asked “Will oil and gasoline prices decline by the fall?”, Trump answered, “That could happen, it could stay the same, and it might even be a little higher. But overall it will be about the same level.”

Reuters assessed this as an unusual acknowledgment by Trump of the potential political repercussions from his decision to attack Iran.

According to data from fuel price analytics firm GasBuddy, gasoline prices in most parts of the United States have exceeded $4 per gallon (about 3.78L) since April, or about 6,000 won. Four dollars per gallon is a ‘psychological threshold’ for U.S. consumers, and crossing it is likely to lead to reduced spending.

As recently as February, just before the war with Iran, the U.S. average gasoline price was below $3 per gallon, and over the past year it had not exceeded $3.25 per gallon.

Even in this situation, after U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks collapsed, Trump said he would blockade all vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to pressure Iran, fueling concerns that energy prices could climb further. U.S. Central Command decided to implement the blockade order starting at 10 a.m. on the 13th (11 p.m. on the 13th, Korea time).

Iran warned that oil prices could rise further. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Iranian parliament speaker who headed the ceasefire negotiating team, posted on X a map showing gasoline prices in Washington and said, “Enjoy the current prices,” adding, “Because of the so-called ‘blockade,’ you will soon miss $4∼5 per gallon.”

Within the United States, too, there are claims that Trump ordering a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could push energy prices higher.

Mark Warner, the Democratic ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a CBS interview, “Iran has hundreds of speedboats and could lay mines in the strait or throw bombs at tankers to close it,” and asked, “How does that (the blockade of Hormuz) lower gasoline prices?”

Meanwhile, Iran continued to argue that the United States is responsible for the collapse of the ceasefire talks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who took part in the talks, claimed on X, “When the Islamabad agreement was near, we faced excessive demands, moving the goalposts, and a blockade.”

He added that Iran negotiated with the United States in good faith to end the war, saying, “Good faith begets good faith, and hatred begets hatred.”