In the past few months, oil prices have skyrocketed. Diesel and gasoline\u2014the main products used to fuel cars\u2014have reached a record average of 4.3$ per gallon in the US (3.84 euros per gallon, 1.01 euros per litre). In Spain, it has reached a record average of 6.7 euros per gallon (7.51$ per gallon, 1.76 euros per litre.) These prices have made it even more expensive for people to fuel their vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These prices have skyrocketed due to the Iran war between Iran, US and Israel. To put into context, the Middle East is one of the biggest oil producers in the whole world, with Iran holding the third largest oil reserves in the whole world (11.8% of all oil in the world.) Oil prices in the EU and North America were already expensive because of the economic sanctions imposed upon Russian oil exports, but since the start of the Iranian conflict, gas prices have only been increasing in price. The main people affected by this surge in gas and diesel prices are the everyday consumers. This includes people who rely on gas and diesel to fuel their vehicles, and the businesses who need gas and diesel to fuel their machines and vehicles that are used for the production of and transportation of goods. Yet, there is still one question yet to be answered: How will people and businesses adapt to this sudden increase of gas prices? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To first answer this question, it is important to understand the extent that the Iran war affects the price of oil more specifically, the price of gasoline and diesel. Since the conflict broke out, the Strait of Hormuz has been an active warzone. The Strait of Hormuz is a waterway in between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman used by Middle Eastern countries to export their goods to the rest of the world, it is one of the most crucial routes in regards to the export of oil and goods from the Middle East, responsible for around \u2155 of all global oil exports. Since the beginning of the conflict, the US navy has constructed a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz to monitor the flow of goods being exported. Last September, the US military reported that they destroyed five Iranian tankers in retaliation to the latest attacks on their warships and military bases in Jordan. The United States has been constantly destroying and sabotaging Iranian oil refineries and storage facilities, which restricts the amount of oil coming from the Middle East. Due to this lack of output, there has been a shortage in gasoline and diesel which has caused their prices to fluctuate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to understand that the lack of oil production is not the issue, but rather the lack of refining crude oil into gasoline and diesel which has disrupted the oil supply chain. Higher prices may encourage more oil production, but without any refineries there is no point of focusing on extracting oil\u2014especially if the refineries are situated in a warzone being bombarded by missiles. The US wants to limit the amount of products Iran exports in an attempt to strain their economy, but without the safe passage of Iranian oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, gasoline and diesel will only get more expensive and scarce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gasoline and diesel are necessary resources to people and businesses all around the world. Diesel is the main source of fuel for machines related to trucking, farming, construction, manufacturing, and heating. Gasoline is the main source of fuel for road vehicles and special aviation vehicles. In the short-term, it affects people who need fuel for their car which is their main source of transportation. These high fuel prices add to the amount of expenses they have, and put financial pressure onto them. In the long-term, it affects businesses who need fuel for their vehicles and machines which they use to transport and produce goods. These high fuel prices add to their expenses as well. However, since the main priority of businesses is to make profit, they may raise the prices of their products and services to try and maintain their original amount of profit-after-expenses. This affects people long-term as businesses provide goods and services that people want and need, and if these prices are more expensive, it puts more financial strain onto the consumers. With the increase of price in gasoline and diesel, a question that many people are still stuck on is: How are consumers and businesses supposed to survive when gas prices are increasing and there is an enlarging risk of an inflated economy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most logical answer to this question is to resolve the conflict between Iran and the US and Israel. By resolving the conflict, Iran will not be restricted by the US navy to export gasoline and diesel through the Strait of Hormuz. By doing this, they will be able to export gas and diesel which will stabilize the oil supply chain. However, it is much more complex than that. For gas prices to decrease, the output of gasoline and diesel must increase. The prices of gas will not change in a matter of days after the conflict is resolved, but could take weeks, months, or maybe even years. Iran would have to rebuild their destroyed refining facilities and their inventories. This already would cost a large amount of Iran\u2019s financial resources, and Iran may have other focuses of allocation other than the reconstruction of their destroyed refining facilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
US President Donald Trump has stated that he does not intend to bomb Iran until after the November midterm elections, and that \u201cThe war in Iran will end very soon.\u201d It is unclear what will happen, but people can only hope for the conflict to be resolved and the inflation of gas and diesel to decrease. The main takeaway from this dilemma is that without the stability of the oil supply chain, gas prices will only increase and fuel will only get more scarce. This whole dilemma puts immense financial pressure onto people and businesses who need and rely on gasoline and diesel everyday. If the Iran and US conflict is not resolved, there will be no noticeable change to the price of gas and more importantly to the price of products that people all around the world rely on. It is only a matter of time until there is an answer of what will happen in the future, but until then, that answer remains unknown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bibliography:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAsk the Expert: Why Gas Prices Have Risen and What\u2019s Ahead.\u201d MSUToday<\/em>, 5 Oct. 2026, msutoday.msu.edu\/news\/2026\/10\/gas-price-forecast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bureau, Open. \u201c\u2018through Battle\u2019 or a Deal: Trump Says Iran War Will End \u2018Very Soon.\u2019\u201d Open Magazine<\/em>, openthemagazine.com\/world\/through-battle-or-a-deal-trump-says-iran-war-will-end-very-soon. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Egan, Matt. \u201cIf the Strait of Hormuz Is Open, Why Are Gas and Diesel so Expensive? | CNN Business.\u201d CNN<\/em>, Cable News Network, 9 Oct. 2026, edition.cnn.com\/2026\/10\/09\/business\/oil-gas-diesel-trump-iran-hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fuel-Prices.eu. \u201cDiesel in Spain Today: \u20ac1.888 (\u00a31.60)\/L, Unleaded \u20ac1.784.\u201d Fuel<\/em>, 10 Oct. 2026, www.fuel-prices.eu\/live\/spain\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LLC, Globalen. \u201cSpain Gasoline Prices, 05-Oct-2026.\u201d GlobalPetrolPrices.Com<\/em>, www.globalpetrolprices.com\/Spain\/gasoline_prices\/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNational Average Gas Prices.\u201d AAA Fuel Prices<\/em>, gasprices.aaa.com\/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Press, The Associated. \u201cU.S. Military Says It Destroyed 5 Iranian Oil Tankers after Attacks on Navy Warship.\u201d NPR<\/em>, NPR, 9 Sept. 2026, www.npr.org\/2026\/09\/09\/nx-s1-5962641\/us-destroy-iranian-oil-tankers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the past few months, oil prices have skyrocketed. Diesel and gasoline\u2014the main products used to fuel cars\u2014have reached a record average of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":2288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2272"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2289,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2272\/revisions\/2289"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}