Chris Wright, the U.S. energy secretary, said on Wednesday, September 25, in an interview with Fox News that about 18 million barrels of oil left the Persian Gulf on Tuesday, which is almost equivalent to the level before the war.

He added that the war has caused a reduction in the supply of some energy resources and a short-term increase in costs for American citizens, but that Donald Trump’s policy, the U.S. president, aims to prevent the Islamic Republic from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to reduce energy prices.

The U.S. energy minister said that the prices of gasoline and diesel will decrease, but he did not announce when this decrease would happen and said he cannot predict the behavior of the Islamic Republic.

Wright added that the situation of oil production is improving, but the bigger problem relates to refining capacity. He cited the reduction in refining capacity in Russia following the war in Ukraine and the shutdown of refineries in the United States as factors affecting fuel prices.

The U.S. energy minister also said that an American oil and gas-producing company will announce a major investment in Venezuela on Wednesday.