Unclear ​how seriously Trump meant the remark or whether it represented a new ​policy position

Donald Trump on Friday urged Americans to accept slightly higher gasoline prices as ‌the cost of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and said he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a U.S territory.

The comments underscore the growing ​political risk for Trump as higher fuel ​prices collide with his campaign promise to lower energy costs, with Democrats already seeking to make the economic ​fallout from the Iran war an issue heading ⁠into the November midterm ⁠elections.

In a speech in Garden ‌City, N.Y., Trump said Americans who had to “pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline” should remember that this was the cost of ensuring “a very evil country” ⁠could not have a nuclear weapon.