According to the news portal Axios, the US Central Command has drawn up plans for a wave of "short and powerful" strikes with the aim of breaking the deadlock in negotiations with Tehran, reports the BBC in Serbian.
The BBC has contacted the Pentagon and the White House for comment.
But the potential impact goes much further than the price of fuel.
Experts say the mechanism is a chain reaction: when the price of oil rises, the consequences spread throughout the world economy.
The oil price spike “has a domino effect not just on oil, but on petroleum products, inflation and practically every factor of our daily lives,” says Navin Das, senior oil analyst at data and analytics platform Kpler.
"We could see more headlines about attempts at renewed de-escalation," he adds.
1. Oil is getting more expensive
This is the starting point.
The price of crude oil rises due to supply concerns, geopolitical conflict, or market speculation.
The price of Brent crude briefly jumped nearly seven percent to more than $126 a barrel, before falling back to around $116 in European trading.
Prices jumped this week as peace efforts collapsed and the Strait of Hormuz remained virtually closed, raising the cost of fuel for car owners.
Before the US-Israeli attack on Iran began, the price of Brent crude oil was around $70 a barrel – or 80 percent down from Thursday's peak.
Crude oil is a key component in gasoline and diesel, which means the higher retail price is felt at gas stations.
The current Brent futures contract for June delivery expires at 23:00 GMT on Thursday, while the more actively traded July contract is around $110 a barrel.
Forward contracts are agreements to buy or sell assets at a fixed price for some future date.
2. Rising prices of petroleum products
Oil is not only used for fuel, but also has a key impact on a wide range of products.
As a consequence, the higher price of crude oil is passed on to higher production costs across industries such as jet fuel, plastics and packaging, as well as chemicals and fertilizers.
Governments have warned that households could face higher energy bills, higher food prices and higher airfares as a result of the conflict.
Some airlines have already started raising ticket prices or canceling routes.
The price of artificial fertilizer is already rising, which will ultimately translate into higher food prices.
Suzana Streeter, chief strategist for investment consultancy Velt Club, says costs could remain elevated next year.
“Shipments of urea, which is used for fertilizer, have been blocked, and costs have skyrocketed for farmers around the world who haven’t bought supplies in advance,” she says. “There are concerns that these costs will be reflected in supply chains, pushing up the price of everyday goods later this year and into next year.”
3. Transportation is more expensive
Since almost everything depends on transportation – food, consumer goods, and raw materials – higher fuel prices directly increase transportation costs.
When it becomes more expensive to move goods around the world, companies typically pass those costs on to consumers, putting additional pressure on retail prices.
4. Inflation is rising
These rising costs are accumulating throughout the world economy.
As energy becomes more expensive, companies face higher operating costs, from running factories to heating buildings and transporting goods.
Food prices are also soaring, because farming, packaging and distribution depend on oil-related fuels and fertilizers.
Everyday products, from shoes to electronics, are similarly becoming more expensive to produce and deliver.
As this growth spreads across multiple sectors at once, price pressures become more widespread and persistent.
When this pattern continues over time rather than being just a short-term spike, economists describe it as inflation – a general, sustained rise in the cost of living.
“The whole world is facing this, some countries more, some others less,” says Andre Perfeito, a Brazilian economist who runs the consulting firm APCE.
“Brazil is suffering a lot, for example,” he adds, noting that in recent months inflation has remained persistently above the central bank’s target range.
After peaking above five percent in mid-2025, Brazil's annual inflation gradually eased but remained elevated, hovering around 4.3 percent to 4.4 percent in early 2026, still close to the upper limit of the three percent target range.
It is now expected to end the year at 4.86 percent, according to the country's central bank's latest forecast, due to the conflict in the Middle East.
A large number of other countries followed a similar pattern.
5. How does it affect everyday life?
For households, this ultimately reflects in everyday life in a multitude of ways.
Grocery bills are rising, commuting is more expensive, and utility bills are skyrocketing.
As the cost of living rises, workers may seek pay increases to keep up, which can put additional inflationary pressure.
In response, central banks could raise interest rates to bring inflation under control, making mortgages and loans more expensive and discouraging spending and borrowing.
In some countries, such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, the government has ordered schools to close to save fuel and reduce costs.
"All of this creates room for a slowdown, a global recession," says Perfeito.
"There's not much way to think about a short-term solution. I don't believe Trump will ease up on that, at least not for now," he adds.
In its latest World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that the conflict in Iran risks derailing the economy, with a prolonged escalation increasing the risk of a global recession.
He also urges central banks to be cautious about raising interest rates in response to rising inflation.
However, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant told BBC News that "a little economic pain for weeks" was justified if it reduced the risk of Iran developing a nuclear weapon.
"I'm less concerned about short-term forecasts for the sake of long-term security," he said.
