We are now in week three of the U.S.
and Israel's war with Iran, the purpose of which President Trump has still not clearly explained.
The consequences of the war may have seemed abstract to many Americans at the beginning,
but now they're showing up very concretely on the big pylon signs at the gas station.
The U.S. average for a gallon of regular gas was $3.68.
Gas prices continue to rise over the weekend,
with AAA saying the national average now is sitting at about $3.72 a gallon.
The average price for a gallon of gas, $3.79.
That's up $0.82 now since the start of the war.
These climbing prices are because Iran is doing something the White House did not seem
to have fully anticipated, shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world's oil passes through the strait,
and by pledging to attack vessels, Iran has effectively stopped commercial shipping from the Gulf.
There are right now hundreds of tankers carrying pretty much all of Middle East oil production,
parked outside of the strait, afraid to go through.
That's Atlantic staff writer Roger Karma.
As a result, you have production fields shutting down because they don't have enough storage.
You have the price of a barrel of oil skyrocketing.
For the first time in years, oil prices surpassed $100 per barrel
as a war in the Middle East continues to impact oil production and shipping worldwide.