With the upcoming midterm elections approaching in November, Americans are increasingly feeling the financial strain of Trump’s conflict with Iran.

This strain is most evident at the fuel stations, where prices have soared to $4.20 per gallon—an increase of over a dollar since the onset of the war—intensifying the demand on Trump to resolve the situation.

Globally, regions such as Asia face even greater dependency on the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passageway for nearly 20% of the world’s crude oil supply.

In a recent escalation, Trump declared a U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, following unsuccessful diplomatic efforts by Vice President JD Vance with Iranian officials in Pakistan to persuade Tehran to halt its nuclear program.

According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had previously cautioned Trump about the economic repercussions of the conflict on Asian and European markets.

When questioned by Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo about the likelihood of gas prices dropping before the midterm elections, Trump offered little reassurance.

‘It could be the same or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same,’ Trump told Bartiromo on Sunday.

Trump told Bartiromo he did not think the war would last much longer and that Iran was ‘wiped out,’ before rounding on US media outlets for highlighting how ‘wonderful [Iran is] doing militarily.’ 

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media before departing the White House en route to Miami, Florida, in Washington, DC, USA, 11 April 2026

A small sticker featuring U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, in lower right of sign, at a gas station on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 8, 2026

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent waits for the first meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-fraud task force convened by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 27, 2026

Early voters fills in their ballots in the 2024 US presidential election at the Long Bridge Aquatics and Fitness Center in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 24 September 2024

White House spokesman Kush Desai said that Trump ‘has been clear about short-term disruptions’ from the war, and the administration ‘has been diligently working with the private sector to mitigate these disruptions.’

Daily Mail’s exclusive polling conducted last week shows that Trump’s approval rating has dropped three points, according to a poll, as voters remain wary of the Iran war.

The survey, by the Daily Mail and JL Partners of more than 1,000 registered voters on Wednesday, found that Trump’s approval rating stands at 43 percent, a drop from the last survey in late March, which had his approval rating at 46 percent. The margin of error is 3.1 percent.

The results came after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran after threatening to ‘annihilate’ the country in a devastating bombing campaign targeting its infrastructure.

In mid-March, Trump hit an all-time low approval rating of just 42 percent. The latest results show the President is at the second-lowest approval rating of his second term.

Inflation and the cost of living remain voters’ primary source of displeasure with the President, with 43 percent citing it as the main reason they disapprove of Trump.

Face-to-face talks between American and Iranian Representatives in Pakistan about the end of the war were cut earlier on Sunday after 21 hours, leaving a fragile two-week ceasefire in doubt.

US officials said the negotiations collapsed over what they described as Iran’s refusal to commit to abandoning a path to a nuclear weapon, while Iranian officials blamed Washington for the breakdown of the talks without specifying the sticking points.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began setting conditions for clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, April 11, as two U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers conducted operations

Vice President JD Vance (R) speaks during a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran, as US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner (L) and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff (C) watch, in Islamabad on April 12, 2026. Top-level peace talks between the United States and Iran entered a second day early April 12, as Washington piled pressure by saying it had sent minesweeping ships through the vital Strait of Hormuz

In a Truth Social post published Sunday morning, Trump wrote that all three US representatives, Vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, ‘as all of this time went by, became, not surprisingly, very friendly and respectful of Iran’s Representatives, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Abbas Araghchi, and Ali Bagheri.’ 

However, Trump also noted that the niceties don’t, ‘matter because they were very unyielding as to the single most important issue and, as I have always said, right from the beginning, and many years ago, Iran Will Never Have A Nuclear Weapon!’

Neither side indicated what will happen after the 14-day ceasefire expires on April 22. Pakistani mediators urged all parties to maintain it.

Trump announced the US will blockade the Strait of Hormuz earlier on Sunday morning after peace talks with Iran collapsed.

‘Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or ​leave, the Strait of Hormuz,’ Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday.

The President said that Iran was ‘unwilling to give up its nuclear ambitions’ as Vice President JD Vance returned from peace talks in Pakistan empty-handed.

‘I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran,’ Trump added. ‘No one who ​pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.’

‘Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN ⁠TO HELL!’ Trump said.