Could gas prices rise after US killed Iran general? Here’s what you need to know

Oil prices jumped after a U.S. airstrike killed Iran’s top general, but whether Americans will pay for it at the pump depends on how Iran reacts, experts say.

The price of Brent crude, which is a global oil pricing benchmark, rose more than 3% to reach $68.69 a barrel Friday after the killing of General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq. Gas comes from refined crude oil.

Friday’s increase is the highest prices have been since September, when drone strikes hit the world’s largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia, as reported by The New York Times. U.S. officials blamed that attack on Iran, which the country’s officials denied.

Saudi Arabia was able to restore operations relatively quickly after the attacks and prevent a large jump in gas prices. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said this is why a potential rise in prices in the future would depend on how long and how much oil production abroad would remain inactive.

“I don’t foresee any situation that would put gas prices at a record high,” he said. “But there could be bumps in the road in the months ahead if there is retaliation.”

Devin Gladden, national spokesperson for AAA, said he doesn’t expect there to be a long-term impact from today’s rise in oil prices.

“Fuel contracts are set longer term in advance,” he said. “There are two driving factors: if crude oil stays high and how high prices go.”

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But De Haan said there could be a short-term — and small — increase at the pumps.

“There may be a 5 to 10 cent increase,” he said. “Because the increase is so small I don’t expect it to immediately pan out. It may take a week or 10 days.”

The Department of Defense said in a statement that they carried out the strike because Soleimani was “actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”

Iran President Hassan Rouhani has promised action in response to the attack. In a post on Twitter, he said the country would “take revenge for this heinous crime” following three days of mourning for the general.

Because of this, De Haan said it was guaranteed oil companies have increased security on their sites.

U.S. officials previously announced thousands of troops would be deployed to Iraq in response to the threat. Iran’s State TV also said that the United States has urged Americans to leave the country immediately.

What Trump and 2020 Democrats are saying about Soleimani’s death

Trump took to Twitter the day after the killing, saying Soleimani “should have been taken out many years ago.”

In a press conference Friday afternoon, Trump said a “flawless precision strike” killed Soleimani, who was plotting “imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel.”

“But we caught him in the act and terminated him,” Trump said.

The president pushed back against those saying the attack could start another war.

“We took action last night to stop a war,” Trump said. “We did not take action to start a war.”

Meanwhile, Democrats vying for the party’s 2020 nomination for president urged restraint amid fears the killing of Soleimani could provoke retaliation from Iran.