Hassett on Iran war: ‘The president had to act’

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Sunday defended President Trump’s handling of the Iran war and said the president “had to act,” suggesting that otherwise the outcome could have been dire.

“The whole thing started because the Iranians told us we don’t have to talk to you anymore, because we’re two weeks from having a nuclear weapon,” Hassett told Fox News’s Peter Doocy on “The Sunday Briefing.” “And you see that [they’re] shooting ships like crazy in the straits and everything; the president had to act.”

Hassett added that if “you think about what would have happened if he hadn’t acted, then it would be really, really bad for the global economy, for human civilization.”

The director said the U.S. Navy is bringing up to 1 billion barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for exported goods like crude oil. He suggested that this was keeping prices “as low as it could possibly be, given the disruption.”

“People, when this started, were saying, ‘We’re going to have $150, $200 oil, and we haven’t had that because President Trump organized everybody to get friendly oil out of the straits,” Hassett continued. “And meanwhile, Iran isn’t getting any oil out of the straits, and they’re running out of money, they’re having hyper inflation and their economy’s totally on the ropes.”

U.S. forces have supported the transport of over 1 billion barrels of crude oil through the strait “in the last couple of months,” according to U.S. Central Command (Centcom) commander Adm. Brad Cooper on Saturday.

The strait, which carries around a fifth of the world’s oil consumption daily under normal conditions, was effectively shut off by Iran since the U.S. and Israel launched the conflict with Iran in late February.

Gas prices have risen since, with the national average in the U.S. reaching $4.48 as of Saturday, up 17 cents since last week, according to AAA . The average for diesel reached $6.50, also as of Saturday.

President Trump and his administration have downplayed the conflict’s effect on gas prices. The president said on Wednesday at a campaign rally in North Carolina that the rising cost of gas was “a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done. Remember that.” Trump has also sought to cast blame on energy facilities hit as part of the Russia-Ukraine war.

But the high cost of gas and diesel is proving to be the latest economic headache for Republicans heading into the midterm elections. They have struggled to address gas prices, but diesel could be more difficult, as the rising costs hit key members of the GOP base like rural voters.

The party has encouraged incumbents and candidates to talk about the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as the Working Families Tax Cuts, as well as efforts to lower prescription drug prices.