GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan has criticized the President Donald Trump administration, saying that the effects of the Iran war were still negatively impacting Americans in the form of higher costs.

Biggest Losers Are Not In Tehran

In a post on X on Thursday, De Haan quoted a post by Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who warned Iran that damages sustained by U.S. allies in the Gulf would be compensated by using Iranian funds.

"Any tolls paid to the Persian Gulf Strait Authority will be offset by funds extracted from their accounts," Bessent said, warning of deep financial consequences for Tehran.

De Haan criticized Bessent's comments. "101 days in, and the biggest losers aren't in Tehran," De Haan said, "they're the people paying higher prices while there's still no clear plan or objective."

He called comments about "offsetting tolls" as being "absurd," saying the comments about tolls could "validate an illegitimate threat."

Iran War

The news comes as Trump had earlier issued warnings about Iran getting hit with strikes. However, he later said that cancelled the strikes, saying that Iran had signed an MoU with the U.S. outlining the terms of a possible deal between Tehran and Washington, something the Iranian government denies, according to a report by the semi-governmental news agency Fars.

The President had earlier said the U.S. undertook a "secret" mission under his instructions to move ships through the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in over 100 million barrels of oil passing through the route. Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, however, raised questions about the claims.

USMCA Doubts, Gas Prices

Trump also said that the U.S. did not "need anything" from Canada, criticizing the trade deficits with Ottawa, as well as with Mexico, as his administration casts doubt over a possible renewal of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

De Haan, refuting Trump's claims, responded, saying that 62% of U.S. oil imports comprise oil coming from Canada, while 25% of the total oil barrels going into U.S. refineries also had Canadian origin.

Gas prices appeared to decline slightly in the U.S. on Thursday, with the national average for a gallon of gas at $4.1290, per data from the American Automobile Association (AAA). Diesel prices also appeared to slide lower, with the national average for a gallon of diesel at $5.2790.