Study: Trump's Iran War Has Cost US Drivers $160 Billion in Higher Fuel Prices

A study released October 26, 2026, by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a Helsinki-based nonprofit, found that U.S. consumers have paid an average of $471 more per person for higher fuel prices since the Iran war began on February 28, 2026 — nearly eight times the roughly $60 global average. Across the country, the war has added about $160 billion in fuel costs, compared with $468 billion worldwide, $54 billion in China and $17 billion in Canada.

CREA attributed the outsized U.S. impact to heavier reliance on less fuel-efficient private vehicles, longer average travel distances and a slower shift to electric vehicles than in other wealthy countries. The Trump administration has defended the costs, saying higher fuel prices are "a small cost for consumers to pay to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons" and predicting prices will fall once the war ends, though the conflict has already run longer than officials initially forecast.