Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy repeatedly deflected questions about high gas prices during a Sunday interview with “This Week” host Martha Raddatz.
Gas prices hit an average of $4.451, according to Gasbuddy.com on Sunday, having skyrocketed since the Feb 28 start of Operation Epic Fury. Raddatz asked Duffy about earlier promises by Trump administration officials that gas prices would not remain high over the long term.
“I’m at DOT. I’m not in the energy sector. But from all the briefings that I’ve had, once the Strait opens, you’ll see prices … come down immediately. And again, there’s going to be a tail to that,” Duffy said. “It’s going to take time to get back to where we were before this conflict began, but you’re going to see, I think, immediate relief once the Strait opens.”
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President Donald Trump has expressed pessimism about the progress of diplomatic talks with the Iranian government to resolve the conflict, saying Iran was “asking for things that I can’t agree to.” Raddatz subsequently asked Duffy about the progress of negotiations.
“Yeah, listen, so the president has done very well in his career as a builder and as a president. And he doesn’t talk publicly about what those negotiations are. He doesn’t necessarily say and front run what he’s going to want,” Duffy responded. “I think we’ve let this play out, but the president’s going to look for a good deal, a great deal for the world and for America with the Iranians. But I think it’s untenable to think that the Iranians have a nuclear weapon, and they’re going to have to open the straits.”
Trump imposed a blockade of Iran on April 12 after Iran demanded a toll on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran declared April 9 it would allow passage of 12 ships per day that paid a $1-per-barrel toll in either Chinese yuan or cryptocurrency. The Islamic regime also announced it had lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump administration officials assert Iran posed a threat to the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. launched strikes because American casualties could have occurred from an Iranian response to Israel’s planned attack.
Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent resigned in March over the conflict, stating the war began “due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
The New York Times reported April 7 that, despite skepticism from Vice President J.D. Vance and other officials, Trump was convinced to launch strikes against Iran during a Feb. 11 visit to the White House by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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