WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nexstar) — In an address to the nation, President Trump said tensions with Iran are easing — but oil prices tumbled immediately after the address.
Oil prices had already been fluctuating since Trump ordered the airstrike that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.
Former national security adviser for the Trump campaign J.D. Gordon says the main reason the U.S. is in the Middle East is because of oil.
Gordon says oil prices will keep fluctuating until the U.S. and Iran reach stability.
“If we see more strikes by Iran or strikes from the United States against Iran,” says Gordon. “I think oil prices will go up.”
Texas Republican Congressman Michael McCaul says the U.S. is now the world’s leading oil producer.
“We have become energy independent in the United States and I think Texas is has led the way towards energy independence and that really has impacted our foreign policy,” says McCaul.
Trump says the U.S. will immediately impose economic sanctions on Iran and they will remain until Iran changes its behavior.
