Iran said it would set fire to oil tankers passing through the strait, effectively locking much of the world’s oil in place during the war. That means high oil prices could be here for a while – and gas prices, which follow oil prices with a lag, could stay elevated for even longer. Securing the straitThe US military is developing plans to eliminate Iran’s ability to attack oil tankers. It said its forecast is based on assumptions about the duration of the Middle East conflict and oil production outages. If oil stays that high, gas prices could near $4 a gallon and hover there until oil prices come down meaningfully – and stay lower.

Source: CNN March 11, 2026 21:01 UTC