Trump wants out of this costly war. The Iranian regime has him trapped

March 19, 2026 — 2:00am

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For the ordinary Trump-voting American, the Middle East conflict is a long way away. The situation on the ground as bombs rain down across Iran, Israel, Lebanon and many other countries is likely of little concern. But what Americans will have noticed is that petrol prices have soared more than US80¢ a gallon since the start of the Iran war.

This is one reason why US President Donald Trump will be looking for a pause in his campaign against the Iranian regime. He may not get one.

The Trump administration has tried valiantly to keep the price of crude oil under $US100 a barrel. It successfully cajoled its counterparts in the Group of Seven and the International Energy Agency’s 32 member countries to release emergency oil stocks – the largest single release in the IEA’s history.

The total release of 400 million barrels was more than double the previous release. More than a quarter came from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which consists of federally owned crude oil stored in more than 60 underground salt caverns along the US Gulf Coast, each cavern almost big enough to fit two Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other.

Before the release, the reserve – which at capacity can hold 700 million barrels of oil – was only 60 per cent full. It is now down to 45 per cent.

Oil shock: Iran has the world over a........

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