Heritage Foundation Chief Economist EJ Antoni said Saturday on Newsmax that rising U.S. gas prices reflect global oil market pressure from the Iran conflict, arguing that strong domestic production does not shield American drivers from supply disruptions and shifting demand abroad.
Speaking on "The Count," Antoni said the central issue is the global nature of crude trading.
"This truly is a global market," Antoni said. "In other words, this is a commodity that no matter where it comes out of the ground, it can ultimately be used just about anywhere."
His comments came as U.S. gasoline prices have climbed sharply since the conflict in Iran began.
Reuters reported on March 20 that the national average price of gasoline had risen to $3.912 per gallon, up about 31% since the war began on Feb. 28.
AAA’s own price tracker shows the national average was about $3.884 per gallon as of March 19, 2026.
Antoni said countries that rely heavily on oil from the Middle East are now competing for supplies from other producers, including the United States.
"If you're a country like Japan, that gets about 95% of its oil from the Middle East, right now, you're knocking on the door of West Texas saying, hey, we'd like to buy some of that oil," he said.
That added competition, he said, "is increasing demand for oil from all the sources who are still producing, including here in the United States."
Antoni also said crude quality and refinery design help explain why oil flows do not line up neatly with national borders.
"Not all crude is created equal," he said. "And so you do have different types of crude oil, and you have different refineries that are optimized for one type of crude versus the other."
Even before the current conflict, Antoni said, U.S.-produced crude often moved overseas for refining, while foreign crude continued coming into the U.S. for domestic processing.
"There was plenty of oil that we got out of the ground here in the United States that didn't stay here," he said. "It was shipped abroad to be refined elsewhere."
The same pattern works in reverse, he said. "Likewise, we were bringing in oil from abroad to refine and use here in the United States," Antoni said, calling that trade flow further proof that oil remains "a global market and a global commodity."
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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