US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Friday morning that gasoline prices are expected to drop within a matter of weeks after climbing sharply following the outbreak of war in the Middle East.

“Look, Iran has been an escalator of energy prices [for] 47 years, the whole history of their regime,” Wright told “Fox & Friends.”

“We’ve got a little bit of an interruption right now, to finally put an end to their ability to wreak havoc, to kill Americans, and to terrorize their neighbors.”

Data from AAA shows the national average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline has climbed to $3.32, compared with $2.98 just a week earlier, before the launch of Operation Epic Fury.

The increase pushed gasoline prices above the $3-per-gallon mark for the first time since November, a development that could create political challenges for President Trump and congressional Republicans as they promote their economic affordability agenda ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Drivers in the tri-state region have seen slightly smaller increases. The average price for regular gasoline stands at $3.23 in New York, $3.20 in New Jersey, and $3.18 in Connecticut — increases of 22 cents, 29 cents, and 26 cents respectively since Feb. 27.

A Reuters/Ipsos survey released Sunday found that 45% of voters said they would be more likely to oppose Operation Epic Fury if the military campaign resulted in higher energy and gasoline prices in the United States.

Speaking in a phone interview with CNN, President Trump also expressed confidence that the rise in prices would not last long, saying the spike would be “short-term” and “go way down, very quickly.”

Earlier in the week, Trump said US Navy ships could begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if needed in order to keep global oil supplies flowing.

On Friday, Wright said such naval escorts could begin “as soon as it’s reasonable to do it.”

Iran previously announced it was closing the key shipping route in the Persian Gulf and warned it would attack vessels attempting to enter the passage, which handles roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, more than 20 million barrels of oil moved through the strait each day in 2023, the most recent year with available data.

In his CNN interview, Trump said he had already addressed the issue of securing oil shipments through the waterway.

“We’ve knocked their navy because, you know, when you knock out the navy, they can’t do what they wanted to be able to do,” he said. “The navy is almost, we just hit about the 25 mark. Can you imagine that? Big ones — 25 ships are down.”

Iran has continued retaliatory attacks against oil-producing Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

While Trump has suggested the conflict could end within four weeks or less, other administration officials have declined to estimate how long the war might continue.

Inflation slowed to 2.4% in January, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, though many everyday goods remain expensive for consumers.

Energy prices previously spiked following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when crude oil climbed to nearly $119 per barrel.