U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into major oil companies for allegedly failing to reduce gasoline prices in line with falling crude oil costs. The directive came Wednesday amid criticism over the impact of the Middle East war on fuel prices. According to AFP, global energy prices surged after Iran blocked oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S. and Israeli attacks in February.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that large oil companies were not lowering pump prices even though they were paying much less for crude, accusing them of overcharging consumers. Gasoline prices remain a sensitive political issue in the United States, where most people rely on fossil-fuel vehicles for transportation. The controversy comes as congressional elections approach in November.

Economists have disputed Trump’s repeated prediction that fuel prices would drop “like a rock” after the conflict ended, saying it could take months for prices to return to prewar levels. Although a preliminary U.S.-Iran deal has reopened oil transit through Hormuz, pump prices remain higher than before the war.