U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright appears before a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy hearing on the Trump administration's 2027 budget request for the Department of Energy, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 15, 2026.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday said gas prices may not drop below $3 until next year, as the U.S. war with Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz continue to wreak havoc on energy markets.

"I don't know, that could happen later this year, that might not happen until next year, but prices have likely peaked," Wright said on CNN's "State of the Union" when asked when prices at the pump will return to pre-war figures. "Certainly with a resolution of this conflict, energy prices will go down."

Wright added that "under $3 a gallon is pretty tremendous in inflation-adjusted terms. We had that in the Trump administration, but we hadn't seen that in inflation-adjusted terms for quite a long time. We'll get back there for sure."

Gas prices have spiked since the U.S. launched the war with Iran. Tehran has largely locked up the Strait of Hormuz since the war broke out, a critical shipping channel that carries about a fifth of the world's oil.

Regular unleaded sat at $2.90 per gallon on average in the U.S. on Feb. 1, according to Gasbuddy. Since the war began on Feb. 28, gas prices per gallon have soared and are currently about $4.04 per gallon on average, according to AAA.