The tab translates to an average hit of $750 per household, though families with multiple cars and long commutes would bear more. <\/p>\n
\u201cEnergy price shocks function as an economy-wide, unacknowledged tax on American households, with costs comparable to large federal programs and policies,\u201d the group said in a statement Tuesday. <\/p>\n
For context, researchers noted, the $100 billion in added fuel costs is roughly the same as the federal government\u2019s annual spending<\/a> on the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.<\/p>\n Oil prices have shot up since the U.S. and Israel launched their war and Iran choked off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shippingway that carries about a quarter of the world\u2019s oil supply. Prices have dropped at times only to bounce back up, just as they did on Tuesday, nearing $100 per barrel again due to the standoff in the strait.<\/p>\n The price of gasoline was below $3 per gallon on average before the war and now hovers at $4.15<\/a> as of Tuesday, according to AAA. The higher prices at the pump have helped drive public support for the war to just 31%<\/a> and Trump\u2019s approval rating to a mere 33%<\/a>, according to a recent Reuters\/Ipsos survey. <\/p>\n Though less visible than the price of gasoline, the higher cost of diesel fuel has also squeezed Americans\u2019 wallets since the war began. Diesel fuel is used in large trucks, farm machinery and power generation, so households \u201cbear these increases through higher prices from their grocery stores, utility bills, and across the economy,\u201d the Brown researchers noted.<\/p>\n Jeff Colgan, a political science professor at Brown and director of the Climate Solutions Lab, told HuffPost<\/a> last month that they created the Iran War Energy Cost Tracker so that people could easily visualize how much the war cost \u2014 not to the Pentagon but to everyday Americans.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce you start to add it up and see what else we could have spent that money on, it really hits a nerve for people,\u201d Colgan said.<\/p>\n Trump, who campaigned for the White House in part on a pledge to end \u201cforever\u201d wars, initially said the U.S. would be out of Iran in a matter of weeks. The conflict passed the six-month mark a little over a week ago, however, and the president has struggled to find a face-saving way to extract himself.<\/p>\n On top of the financial cost, the war has led to 18 service member deaths and roughly 800 wounded. Trump recently downplayed<\/a> those losses by comparing them to the much larger toll of the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n![\"President](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/6aa05a4e170000542b200d8a.jpeg\")
President Donald Trump gestures while boarding Air Force One at Morristown Airport on Monday, Sept. 7 in Morristown, N.J.<\/p>\n