Energy Secretary Chris Wright delivered a reassuring message to American drivers and markets on Sunday, declaring that oil is flowing "back towards normal" through the Strait of Hormuz despite fresh threats from Tehran to choke off the world's most vital oil artery.
Speaking after Iranian officials signaled they would again move to close the strait in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Wright said the recovery was happening on its own terms. "I think it's returning flows back towards normal without any cooperation at all from Iran," he said, adding that the leverage President Trump applied was forcing Tehran to "realize they're going to lose all the cards in their hand," according to The Washington Times. Asked about pump prices, Wright was blunt: "They will continue to head down."
It is a story of American leverage. Roughly 20% of the world's oil supply passes through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, and for years Washington's adversaries have treated that chokepoint as a weapon. This time, the traffic kept moving. Vice President JD Vance, in Switzerland for talks with Iran, said there was no evidence of an Iranian blockade and that a record amount of oil had moved through the strait in the previous 24 hours, as The Hill reported.
Relief at the Pump
The numbers back up the optimism. The national average for a gallon of gas stood at $3.93 on Sunday, down from $4.07 a week earlier, according to figures cited in the Washington Times report. That marks a fourth consecutive week of declines after prices spiked during the worst of the Middle East conflict. Global crude prices have eased along the same path as shipping conditions improved.
The episode underscores the wisdom of an energy-dominance strategy. Wright acknowledged that President Trump anticipated short-term price increases when the conflict flared but pressed ahead anyway, betting that American production and resolve would outlast the disruption. That bet appears to be paying off. When foreign chokepoints seize up, the world increasingly turns to reliable American barrels.
For families still feeling the sting at the pump, the message from Wright was that relief is real and ongoing. Gas remains higher than a year ago, when the national average sat near $3.23 — a reminder that the conflict carried a real cost. But with the strait open, prices falling and American production humming, the trend line points in the right direction, and Tehran's threats are looking increasingly empty.
