Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated on Sunday, July 19, 2026, that the United States will continue to ensure the flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz more than a week after hostilities between the U.S. and Iran reignited. Speaking in an interview with ABC News’s Jonathan Karl on “This Week,” Wright emphasized that “the president is always looking for the diplomatic off-ramp.” He added that President Trump desires a peaceful agreement with Iran but acknowledged that such a resolution requires cooperation from both parties.

Wright noted that the U.S. had paused military actions to seek an agreement with Iran to allow oil to flow without attacks, referencing a now-defunct memorandum of understanding. However, he said, “They’ve proven unwilling to do that, and we’ve pivoted.” The administration is actively working to maintain oil and gas flow through the Strait of Hormuz “with or without Iranian cooperation,” while simultaneously degrading Iran’s offensive military capabilities.

Earlier in the year, Wright predicted that gas prices would not fall below $3 per gallon until 2027, a forecast President Trump called “totally wrong.” Wright later stated he was avoiding making further gas price predictions. Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, Wright told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in May that it would reopen “sometime this summer at the latest,” warning that if Iran continued to disrupt global economic stability, the U.S. military would intervene to force its reopening, though he acknowledged this would not be a trivial operation.

At an Atlantic Council event in June, following a ceasefire agreement, Wright said the volume of oil passing through the strait would increase “very meaningfully,” and days later confirmed that oil flow was returning to normal. Despite these efforts, the national average gas price in the U.S. rose to $4 on Sunday, slightly higher than the previous month and over 10 cents above the prior week, according to AAA data.

Sources