Gasoline prices will drop once the war with Iran ends, and the ceasefire was a mistake because Iran’s leadership is “incorrigible,” Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, told Newsmax on Thursday.
Forbes spoke on “Rob Schmitt Tonight” as the AAA national average for regular gas hit $4.56 a gallon heading into Memorial Day weekend, the highest level since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran in late February.
Forbes predicted a swift reversal at the pump if the conflict is resolved.
“I think it will. The key thing is to get this war over with,” he said. “Yes, you’ll see oil flowing again. You’ll start to see gas prices go down.”
He sharply criticized the two-week ceasefire that took effect on April 8.
“I’ll be blunt with you. I thought the ceasefire was a mistake,” Forbes said.
“These guys are incorrigible in Iran. I think we’re going to have to go back and take him out when that war is over — whether it’s a week, a month, six weeks, whatever.”
A fragile Pakistan-mediated ceasefire between the United States and Iran remains in place as tensions persist over the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes but where commercial shipping has been severely disrupted for weeks.
Forbes argued the visual impact of declining prices matters beyond the numbers themselves.
“It’s not just the specific number. If people see one of those big signs that you have now seen go down, down, down, that puts you in a better frame of mind. Things are starting to work again,” he said.
Asked whether he is optimistic once the conflict ends, Forbes replied: “Got to get it over with — sooner the better.”
Gas prices have surged 53% since the war began, according to AAA data.
GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said Wednesday that the national average could hit an all-time record of more than $5.03 per gallon if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed through midsummer.
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