MSN

While the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has sent oil prices soaring, with the national average cost for a tank of gas recently eclipsing $4, experts are now forecasting $6-per-gallon prices as early as this summer, a forecast that one media and political strategist said, if accurate, would lead to an “extinction-level event” for Republicans in the midterms.

President Donald Trump kicked off the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran in late February, prompting Iran to shut off U.S.-aligned vessels from accessing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping channel through which 20% of the world’s oil trade flows. As a result, oil prices have increased to levels not seen since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and show no signs of easing.

President Donald Trump was spotted Sunday taking a “bizarre tour” of Washington, D.C., including a stop at his golf course, and in lieu of attending any of the three Easter services held that morning at the church he’s “frequently” attended, The Daily Beast reported.

St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., often called the “Church of the Presidents,” has been attended at least once by every president since its construction in 1816. The church held three Easter services Sunday morning – none of which, the Beast reported, were attended by Trump.

In a vague social media post on Sunday, President Donald Trump appeared to have extended his deadline for Iran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz by another day, prompting widespread ridicule from critics over what some described as the president’s “desperation.”

“Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, with no additional context.

President Donald Trump reaffirmed his commitment to authorize an unprecedented attack on Iranian civilian infrastructure on Sunday, telling Axios’ Barak Ravid in a phone call that he intends on “blowing up everything over there” if his demand is not met by Monday night.

Following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, Iranian officials blocked U.S.-aligned vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane that carries roughly 20% of global oil trade. In mid-March, Trump threatened to bomb Iranian power plants if the waterway was not reopened within 48 hours, but twice extended the deadline, citing ongoing negotiations with Tehran that Iran denied were taking place.

The ongoing U.S. war against Iran, which kicked off in late February with the killing of more than 100 Iranian schoolchildren, has undermined a key State Department foreign policy tool and may have irreparably damaged the nation’s global reputation, a former Obama administration public diplomacy chief warned Sunday.

“I believe because of [President] Donald Trump and his war in Iran, American popularity will descend to depths it has not seen this century and may never recover to the median levels that we saw with Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan,” wrote Richard Stengel, former State Department under secretary for diplomacy, in an analysis published Sunday in The Guardian.

President Donald Trump left onlookers baffled on Easter Sunday after, rather than issuing a customary message for the Christian holiday, he praised “Allah” – the Arabic word for God – while delivering a profanity-laced threat to destroy civilian infrastructure, actions that would likely constitute war crimes.

Trump’s outburst comes after several failed attempts to force Iran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping channel that Tehran has denied access to for U.S.-aligned vessels in response to U.S.-Israeli attacks.

President Donald Trump issued a curse-laden threat to Iran on Sunday, warning its leaders that unless they cave to his demand to re-open a critical shipping channel to U.S. vessels, the United States would launch an unprecedented attack Tuesday on Iranian civilian infrastructure.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F----- Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”