Michael Gabriel Hernandez
13 May 2026•Update: 13 May 2026
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he does not take into consideration the economic toll being borne by Americans when he engages with Iran over negotiations to end the war he started in February.
"Not even a little bit," Trump said in response to a reporter's question regarding to what extent he considers Americans' financial situations during the talks. "The only thing that matters when I am talking about Iran: they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about Americans’ financial situation. I don't think about anybody."
The US-Israeli war against Iran has cost Americans roughly $38.1 billion in extra energy prices, according to figures compiled by the Iran War Energy Cost Tracker from Brown University's Watson School of International and Public Affairs.
The data is updating in real-time with the tally continuing to increase with each passing second. The majority of the extra costs – $20.86 billion – have been paid for petroleum while diesel accounts for $17.2 billion.
The average US household has paid $290.56 more per month across both gasoline and diesel.
Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering retaliation from Tehran against Israel as well as US allies in the Gulf along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire took effect April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement. The truce was later extended indefinitely by Trump amid an impasse in resuming negotiations.
Trump fumed against Iran on Sunday after Tehran submitted its response to his proposal to permanently end the war, calling it "totally unacceptable."
Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf responded, maintaining that there is "no alternative" but to accept the rights of the Iranian people outlined in Tehran’s 14-point proposal.
“Any other approach will be completely inconclusive; nothing but one failure after another,” Qalibaf wrote on the US social media platform X.