Donald Trump has provided a new update on the timeline of the conflict between the United States and Iran, as shipping activity in the critical Strait of Hormuz sees a significant halt. Meanwhile, some experts caution that the hostilities might extend into the latter part of the year.

According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline has surged to $3.72, a noticeable increase from $2.93 just a month ago.

In an interview with PBS News on Monday, President Trump referred to the current hike in gas prices as “a very small price to pay,” expressing confidence that “oil prices will drop like a rock as soon as it’s over.”

When questioned on the duration of the conflict, Trump stated, “I don’t believe it will be long.”

However, three sources with knowledge of the situation informed Axios that the conflict in the Middle East might stretch into September, a much longer period than Trump has publicly acknowledged.

This situation presents a challenge for the President, especially with the midterm elections approaching in just a few weeks. A recent exclusive poll by Daily Mail/JL Partners indicates that the majority of Americans are opposed to the conflict.

Thirteen US troops have been killed so far in the war, and 200 troops have been injured, including 10 ‘seriously,’ Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said Monday.

Trump first told the Daily Mail in a phone interview that the war could last up to four weeks. Later, he indicated it could last up to five. 

‘I don’t believe it will be long,’ Trump said Monday when asked about how much longer the war will drag on

An aerial view of Iran’s Kharg Island, an outpost that is responsible for roughly 90 percent of the country’s oil export industry

Trump posted videos of the US strikes on Kharg Island targeting the airstrip and other military objectives  

Since then, the President has been cagey on the exact timing of the conflict, not wanting to show his hand to the media ahead of any actions regarding Iran. He has also said the war will last as long as ‘necessary,’ without giving further explanation. 

His flip-flopping messaging on the war comes as Americans express skepticism over the fight and the midterms loom in November as Republicans on Capitol Hill seek to maintain their small majorities. 

‘We are behind the eight ball as far as the electoral process,’ Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky told Fox Business last week. 

‘If you add in high gas prices, high oil prices, and if we are still bombing Iran with kinetic action — people don’t want to call it war — if there’s still kinetic action that causes oil to be over $100, I think you’re going to see a disastrous election.’

Brent crude oil, the global oil benchmark, has risen over 40 percent since the US and Israel struck Iran on February 28, killing its leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Analysts and energy executives have warned that gas and oil prices will rise further, and after Trump ordered strikes on Iran’s energy chokepoint, Kharg Island, which accounts for some 90 percent of the country’s exports, markets are expected to spike further. 

Still, the President is wary of how his military ‘excursion’ into Iran can impact the global economy. 

‘Kharg Island is out of commission except for the pipes, which I left,’ he told PBS. ‘I didn’t want to hit the pipes because, you know, it’s years of work to put them together.’

On Friday, American forces struck military targets on the small island outpost off the Iranian coast. 

A couple of thousand individuals work on the island, many of them critical to maintaining the deepwater ports, used by heavy oil tankers, and the energy infrastructure critical to Iran’s oil export industry. 

‘We are behind the eight ball as far as the electoral process,’ Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky told Fox Business last week

Sources told Axios that the conflict in the Middle East could last into September

Trump told the outlet he asked the military to leave ‘100 yards’ around ‘anything having to do with oil’ untouched in the strikes, noting how laborious it can be to rebuild critical oil infrastructure. 

He also disclosed he’d have no qualms with striking it again. 

‘I told them openly, I’ll knock the hell out of it.’  

Iran’s UN ambassador ​says ⁠over 1,300 people have been killed in Iran in US and Israeli attacks. Israel says 12 people have been ⁠killed ​in Israel by Iranian attacks. ​The US says 13 of its troops have been killed.