A gas station in the US state of Virginia.Image: www.imago-images.de
High costs, rising gasoline prices and, last but not least, human lives: The USA – including the population – are paying a lot for operations in the Middle East. An overview.
Mar 10, 2026, 4:41 p.mMar 10, 2026, 4:41 p.m
Gasoline prices
It’s not just in Europe that drivers are getting nervous these days. After the attack on an oil storage facility in Iran, oil prices rose rapidly on Monday. This has consequences for the fuel price. Not only in Switzerland, unsettled people rushed to gas stations to take advantage of cheaper fuel.
In the USA, the price of gasoline has risen by almost 17 percent since the outbreak of the conflict, reports New York Times. Just days before the attack, the average price was $2,951 per gallon (3.785 liters). On Tuesday it was already at $3,539; in California people were already paying well over $5 per gallon, as taxes here are exacerbating the crisis. At some gas stations you pay over 8 dollars.
Gasoline prices in the USA on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.Image: AAA Gas Prices
Opposite the New York Post Drivers in California report that they are shocked by the high gas prices. At the same time, the first politicians are calling for Trump to intervene. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, for example, is demanding that Trump immediately release oil from the “Strategic Petroleum Reserve” in order to reduce prices. This is the emergency oil reserve managed by the Department of Energy.
“California is in a death spiral when it comes to gasoline and oil prices,” said Republican Senator Suzette Valladares “California Post”. “If the president recognizes our gasoline crisis as a national crisis, he could intervene.” However, Valladares blames Governor Gavin Newsom and his policies for the increased prices. Or in her words: “His policies and unrealistic climate goals have put us in this situation.”
California has the highest gas prices in the nation.
That’s not inevitable – it’s policy.
We should be building energy resilience and independence, not leaving Californians exposed to global shocks.
Average gas price today:⁰CA: $5.20⁰U.S.: $3.48
— Senator Suzette Valladares (@SenValladares) March 9, 2026
This refers to the emissions trading system in California, which requires refineries to reduce or offset CO2 emissions. Opponents warned that this would mean they would have to close down and therefore more oil would have to be imported from abroad, reports das Wall Street Journal. This would cause costs to rise and jobs to be lost.
But other US states are also confronted with rising gasoline prices. In recent months, Trump has repeatedly emphasized how low gasoline prices are and that this is thanks to him. The wasn’t always entirely truebut now the price is rising rapidly, as an analysis by AAA Gas Prices shows.
The development of the US gasoline price in recent years.Image: AAA Gas Prices
And Trump? He appeases. On Sunday he announced on his Truth Social platform that oil prices may rise briefly. However, once the nuclear threat from Iran is eliminated, the price will fall rapidly. “This is a very small price to pay for the United States, the world, security and peace,” he wrote. However, this price also hits hardest those who already have a small budget.
Image: Truth Social/@realdonaldtrump
How the price develops depends on various factors. Not least from Trump and his statements. After he announced on Monday that the Iran war was effectively over, markets recovered a bit. However, if new escalations occur, there is a risk of a new increase in costs.
War chest
Fighting a war costs a lot of money. The USA has loudly Forbes spent $600 million before the first attack. Depending on the duration, experts expect up to $95 billion – the economic loss for the USA is likely to rise to up to $210 billion.
In the first two days of the attack alone, according to the Washington Post Ammunition worth $5.6 billion was used. Cheaper rockets should now be used.
Nevertheless, experts estimate that air operations consume around $30 million per day, water operations around $15 million per day and ground operations 1.6 million per day. Nevertheless, a resolution by Democrats in the US House of Representatives was rejected. She had demanded more congressional say in the Iran war.
Air travel
The attack on Iran had a massive impact on international air traffic. Thousands of people were stranded in the Gulf region as the airspace over Dubai – a major transit airport – was closed. Other airports that are considered important hubs were also closed.
Americans who were at home didn’t notice much of it at first. But now spring break begins. There is therefore more travel between March and May. However, anyone who had planned an international flight could be disappointed.
Many flights were canceled. Those that do take place are now becoming more expensive. Because the routes go around the war zone, the flight time takes longer and more kerosene is used – in short: the costs increase. Given the global security situation, it is also becoming increasingly complicated to find safe flight routes. The British one telegraph On Monday he even spoke of a “bottleneck” over Azerbaijan and Georgia, through which thousands of aircraft now have to push their way.
In addition, there is another domestic problem for Americans: Due to the partial shutdown, there is a lack of border guards. There are currently long queues at the airports because there are not enough staff, as is the case in various areas media report.
Long lines at security check at Houston airport.Image: Hearst Newspapers
human life
It is the highest price in a war: the lives lost. Seven soldiers have died on the US side so far.
CENTCOM update
TAMPA, Fla. – Last night, a US service member passed away from injuries received during the Iranian regime’s initial attacks across the Middle East. The service member was seriously wounded at the scene of an attack on US troops in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia…
— US Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 8, 2026
There are still no exact figures as to how many people have died in the twelve-day war so far. Estimates range from just under 1,000 to over 1,300 people. And the war is not over yet.
Many children were among the first victims: on the first day of the attack, a school near a military installation was hit by a rocket. Over 170 people died. It was initially unclear who fired the rocket. In recent days there have been suspicions that it was fired by the USA.
approval
Rising gasoline prices, war, the threat of inflation – the American population is faced with a number of problems. The loyal Trump fans always stuck with him, but the US President walks a fine line.
If the war lasts longer and gasoline prices remain high, this could have a negative impact on the midterms. Voices are already being raised calling for an end to the war. And a split is also noticeable in the MAGA base.
After all, it was one of his biggest announcements in the election campaign: Donald Trump had promised to lower gasoline prices by increasing oil and gas production in the USA. After Maduro’s kidnapping, Trump openly admitted that he was concerned about Venezuela’s oil reserves.
Although Trump tried to reassure the recent price jumps that this would only be short-lived, according to Time Magazine, experts expect that the market will take a while for prices to return to normal. However, it is currently too early to make any predictions.