Trump: Refinery disruptions, not Hormuz, are driving gas prices

President Trump on Monday claimed that disruptions to oil refineries are driving up the soaring cost of gas , not Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the start of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with its regime.

“What’s driving up Gasoline is no longer the Strait of Hormuz, because Record Numbers of Barrels are coming out now on an almost daily basis, but the word, ‘Refineries,’ where Russia’s are being blown up by Ukraine, and where ours are being closed up, in Blue States, like California, by the Dumocrats,” Trump wrote on Truth Social , using his insult to describe Democratic officials.

Tom Kloza, Gulf Oil’s chief petroleum analyst, told The Hill that Trump’s assertion that the Russia-Ukraine war is behind the high prices was “partially right” but noted that the price of crude oil from the Persian Gulf has ballooned to $33 per barrel, up from $1.75 in February.

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“That’s insurance and freight and all the risk premiums,” he said, noting that some vessels in the strait have reportedly faced attacks. “As long as that continues, you’re going to have this incredible risk premium that’s attached to the price of crude, even though you may be getting as much crude as you were getting on Feb. 28.”

The post follows a similar one that Trump wrote on his social platform about how Ukrainian military strikes hitting Russian infrastructure have caused Russia to lose “control of its diesel oil industry,” adding that the country is calling for the war to end.

“A large number of their Diesel refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the phone Sunday.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry late Sunday took credit for disabling 51 percent of Russia’s oil refining capacity. Attacks on refineries from Moscow to Siberia have led to a massive fuel crisis since earlier this year.

Trump has sought to relaunch efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine as the Iran war stretches on. Both conflicts have disrupted global energy exports, though Iran’s closure of the strait has caused gas prices to reach a national average close to $4.50 in recent weeks, with last year’s national average set down at $3.13, according to AAA .

The average in the U.S. as of Monday was $4.37, with diesel prices hitting an average of $6.53.

U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have been engaged in months-long negotiations to end the four-year war between Russia and Ukraine. Talks to end it include a multibillion-dollar deal that would benefit Middle Eastern business executives tied to the lead U.S. negotiators, according to recent reporting from The New York Times.

Stubborn gas prices have become a growing political issue heading into the November midterm elections, with many Republican incumbents and candidates calling for the conflict with Iran to end so that gas prices can drop.