Iran War Sends US Oil and Gas Prices Higher, Straining Farmers

US farmers are absorbing sharp increases in fertilizer and diesel costs tied to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, while drivers face gasoline prices that have climbed above $5 a gallon in many regions. The conflict, which began with US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in late February, has cut tanker traffic through the vital waterway and lifted benchmark crude futures more than 1 percent in recent sessions.

Oil markets reacted after President Trump left a Beijing summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping without a detailed plan to end the fighting. White House officials said the two sides agreed the strait must stay open and free of tolls, yet Iranian Revolutionary Guard claims of roughly 30 permitted transits since mid-May remain well below pre-war daily averages. Brent crude for July delivery reached $108.22 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate for June hit $103.39, according to intraday futures data reported May 15.

The American Farm Bureau Federation survey cited by multiple outlets found 70 percent of farmers nationwide cannot afford needed fertilizer this season, with the figure reaching 78 percent in the Southeast. Prices for urea-based products rose from roughly $400 a ton in early February to near $600 by March and have continued climbing. Ninth-generation North Carolina farmer Charles Harden told interviewers his operation faces a 12-inch rainfall deficit on top of those input costs, forcing difficult choices on planting and debt repayment.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other administration voices described the price pressure as temporary and argued the economy remains resilient, with stock indexes near records. Larry Kudlow, appearing on Fox Business, called higher energy costs a short-term trade-off for removing Iran’s nuclear threat and reopening shipping lanes. Critics on the left have labeled the conflict “Trump’s war” and questioned whether relief measures such as a proposed Jones Act waiver will reach independent producers in time.

No major outlet has independently verified the precise share of global fertilizer or ammonia moving through Hormuz at the moment of the strikes, nor confirmed the exact pre-war daily tanker count of 140 cited in some reports. Partial reopening after an April ceasefire has eased some supply concerns, but analysts at Haitong Futures and StoneX still describe tight conditions persisting into the summer planting window.