Trump says US is ‘guardian’ of Strait of Hormuz during Iran attack
President Donald Trump convened “Fox & Friends” to talk about the Strait of Hormuz and the attack on Iran.
A majority of Americans expect the war with Iran to be long, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday, July 13th.
A new poll shows that 79% of respondents believe US military action in Iran will “continue for a long time.” However, only 18% of respondents believe the war will end “fairly quickly, within a few weeks.”
US military involvement in Iran remains unpopular with the American public, as only 37% of respondents in the latest poll said they supported an attack. The poll also found that about half of Americans think the war was not worth the cost.
The poll, conducted among 1,019 U.S. adults, had a margin of error of 4 percentage points, according to Reuters/Ipsos.
The poll was taken on the same day the United States launched a new offensive against Iran on Monday, beginning a third consecutive day of attacks.
President Trump said early Monday that the United States would reinstate a naval blockade against Iran and act as a “guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway. He added that the US would charge countries a fee of 20% of the value of all cargo transported to cover “all costs necessary to carry out the work of providing safety and security to highly volatile regions of the world.”
Soaring gas prices
Monday’s poll also showed Americans are less optimistic about future gas prices, with 60% of respondents saying they expect prices to rise next year as a direct result of the Iran war.
The national average for a gallon of gas is $3.87, down 19 cents from the previous month but up 72 cents from July 2025, according to AAA. Crude oil prices soared again in the market, with market benchmark Brent crude futures rising $2.39, or about 3%, to $78.40.
USA TODAY’s Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy and Daniel de Visé contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Contact us at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow us at X @fern_cerv_.
