Will SC gas prices keep rising during the Iran strikes? Here’s what experts say
It’s been a tense weekend to say the least.
The U.S. and Israel ordered a joint strike on Iran on Saturday, without congressional approval, starting an armed conflict resulting in the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. There has been a wave of uncertainty washing over the world since.
Ending Iran’s nuclear program and stopping “imminent threats” from Iran were the U.S.’s primary goals.
While initially stating the conflict wouldn’t drag out for long, President Donald Trump announced it could last weeks, and military operations could go on for even longer if needed. Now, a dozen nations are involved in the feud.
The consequences of the initial strikes are already being felt in the U.S.
Gas prices have surged across the country because Iran is a key player in the oil market, and any disruptions to its oil infrastructure have a ripple effect, said Tiffany Wright, the Director of Public Affairs for AAA’s The Auto Club Group.
The national average gas price went up to $3.11 per gallon, reversing a year of lowering gas prices.
Iran holds the world’s third-largest crude oil reserves, pumping around 4.5% of global oil supplies, according to Reuters. Even though the U.S. doesn’t import from Iran, its hold on the oil industry impacts our nation’s gas prices regardless.
Impact on SC gas prices
The average gas price in SC was $2.83 per gallon on Tuesday, which is around $0.17 more than Monday’s average. Last week, the average gas price in SC was $2.57 per gallon.
These were the 10 counties in SC with the highest gas prices, as of Tuesday, according to the AAA, which keeps track of gas prices in each state:
- Bamberg - $2.970
- Colleton - $2.940
- Darlington - $2.938
- Lee - $2.937
- Beaufort - $2.922
- Calhoun - $2.918
- Abbeville - $2.903
- Charleston - $2.897
- Dorchester - $2.890
- Chester - $2.886
Gas prices can be expected to go up if military operations continue in Iran, according to Wright.
Will gas prices keep rising?
It’s impossible to tell, Wright said. Unexpected geopolitical tensions aren’t predictable, and companies like AAA choose not to speculate or forecast gas prices as a result.
“Bottom line is we don’t know how much higher prices will go, we are monitoring the situation,” Wright told The State. “This isn’t a US supply issue — we have tons of supplies domestically.”
Patrick De Haan, the Head of Petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said gas prices probably won’t spike out of control like they did when Russia invaded Ukraine, but people in SC can expect gas prices to increase another $0.10 to $0.25 in the coming weeks.
This is in part due to the fact that demand for gas increases in the spring, shooting up gas prices during this time of the year anyway.
“People could see a pretty noticeable jump,” Haan said. “I do think that, probably, at some point, by maybe April or May, prices may briefly go over the $3.00 mark.”
On the bright side, oil prices will likely dip by the time summer comes around, once oil operations and demand go back to normal, he said.
This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 5:30 AM.