Vice President JD Vance says keeping oil and gas cheap for Americans is the administration's top priority in the Iran war, even as U.S. gasoline prices hit their highest August level on record. The comments came hours before Washington vowed to keep its naval blockade on Iranian oil exports in place indefinitely.
Vice President JD Vance said keeping oil and gas prices low for Americans ranks as the administration's top priority in the war with Iran, even as the U.S.-Iran standoff drags on with no deal in sight.
Vance said on Fox News on Thursday: "That's goal number one — keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country."
Vance ranked stopping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon as the administration's second goal, a sequencing that marks an apparent shift from the U.S. line early in the war that Tehran must never get the bomb.
Blockade to continue "indefinitely"
Vance's remarks came hours before the U.S. vowed to ratchet up economic pressure on Iran, saying it could keep its naval blockade of Iranian crude oil exports in place indefinitely. Oil prices were on track early Friday for a 4% weekly gain as the two sides showed no sign of moving closer to a peace deal.
Gasoline prices set an August record
The U.S. national average price of gasoline stayed above $4 per gallon this week. AAA said Thursday that while gasoline demand is down, crude oil prices are keeping pump prices higher than normal for this time of year, calling it the highest August on record for the national gasoline average.
That means Americans have never paid this much for gasoline this late in the year. Patrick de Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said the cheapest national average on Aug. 13 since 2008 was $2.13 a gallon in 2016, while today's price of $4.06 a gallon is the most expensive on record for that date.
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