Energy Secretary Chris Wright went on the offensive Sunday, defending President Donald Trump against criticism over rising energy costs and the ongoing tensions with Iran.

Trump Wants Peace, Says Chris Wright

In a post on X, Wright shared a clip of his interview with ABC where he said he could "appreciate" Trump's efforts to resolve the "long-term problem," but acknowledged those efforts came with "short-term political pain" for the President and the administration.

"President Trump wants to bring peace to the world and drive energy prices down. He works every single day on that," Wright said. He then slammed Democratic lawmakers, saying they had "striven for 15 years" to drive energy prices in the U.S.

The Energy Secretary pointed to gas and diesel prices in Democrat-led states being higher than in GOP-led states. "Their [Democrats'] newfound love for low energy prices is a little politically disingenuous," Wright said.

According to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), the national average price of gas on Sunday was $4.2988/gallon, while diesel was at $6.3224/gallon. In California, the average price of gas on Sunday was $6.1782/gallon, while diesel cost $8.5123/gallon on average.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also attributed September's hotter inflation reading largely to an energy shock and argued that energy prices should ease after the Iran war ends.

Iran's Ghalibaf Touts Data Authority

Amid ongoing tensions, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf urged countries in the Gulf region to deny AI companies that support U.S. military infrastructure resources and proposed setting up a "Persian Gulf Data Authority." He also urged Gulf governments, investors and businesses to deny resources to AI and data companies supporting U.S. military operations.

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi also warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was dragging the U.S. into another war in a bid to escape prosecution following Trump's endorsement of the PM ahead of general elections in Israel.