As US Gasoline Passes $4, Hegseth Says Ground War Still An Option

President Donald Trump, she said,“remains committed to fully unleashing American energy dominance, lowering costs, and putting more money back in the pockets of hardworking American families.”

Shortly after the White House issued its statement, Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, posted a link on X to a CNN article about soaring U.S. gas prices, writing“Sad, but this is what happens when your leaders put others ahead of hard-working and ordinary Americans.”

Iran's blockade on US and allied ships at the Strait of Hormuz, a major passage for petroleum and liquid natural gas, has wreaked havoc on global energy markets. As of Tuesday at 12:45 p.m. Eastern, Brent crude oil, the international standard, was trading just over $119 a barrel.

Between 2,000 and 3,000 cargo vessels and oil tankers, along with roughly 20,000 crew, remain stuck in the Persian Gulf, according to the United Nations and open source data, including MarineTraffic.

Trump claimed during a Cabinet meeting Thursday that Iran has agreed to allow eight to 10 Pakistani oil tankers through. On Sunday, the president said 20.

According to the Joint Maritime Information Center, only four large tankers transmitting location data had crossed the Hormuz Strait on Friday and Saturday.

Hegseth said the White House will not rule out any options, including ground operations, but declined to provide detail at the Pentagon briefing.

“You can't fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do, or what you are not willing to do - to include boots on the ground. Our adversary right now thinks there are 15 different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground. And guess what? There are. So if we needed to, we could execute those options on behalf of the president of the United States and this department, or maybe we don't have to use them at all. Maybe negotiations work,” Hegseth said.

Trump told reporters Sunday on Air Force One that negotiations with Iran are happening“directly and indirectly” and are“very good.”

“We're doing extremely well,” the president said.“But you never know with Iran because we negotiate with them, and then we always have to blow 'em up.”

Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran's energy infrastructure, and has set a self-imposed deadline of April 6 to do so if Iran doesn't meet his demands.