Trump demands Exxon and Chevron cut gas prices as the Iran war drives soaring profits

"They're making too much money based on a shortage," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I don't like it." The president insisted the oil companies must pass those earnings on to drivers. "They're going to give some of that back to the public and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price," he said.

ExxonMobil and Chevron together earned $29 billion in the second quarter, more than three times their combined profit in the same period a year earlier, according to Bloomberg. Chevron posted earnings of $12 billion, a gain of nearly 400% against the $2.5 billion it earned in the same quarter last year. ExxonMobil's results climbed to $14.5 billion, up from $7.1 billion twelve months earlier. CNBC has reached out to both companies for comment.

U.S. crude oil futures settled at an average of roughly $92 per barrel across the second quarter, a level approximately 27% above where they stood in the first three months of the year, reflecting the squeeze on oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28. Nationwide, the pump price for regular gasoline reached about $4.10 per gallon on Monday, putting it close to 40% above the $2.98 per gallon consumers were paying on Feb. 27, the day before hostilities began, per AAA figures.

Trump also directed criticism at Chevron Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth on Monday, saying Wirth had failed to credit his administration's pro-fossil fuel policies during a Fox Business Network interview. "The only thing he conveniently forgot to mention is that, without the genius foresight, strength, and stability, of the TRUMP Administration, the Oil Industry, and our Country itself, would be DEAD!" Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to Bloomberg. Wirth had also told the interviewer that the administration had been "very helpful" on oil supply and declared that "the policy actions that have been taken are the right ones."

The Strait of Hormuz disruption has been described by the International Energy Agency as the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market, with crude and oil product flows through the strait falling from roughly 20 million barrels a day to nearly zero. Gas prices climbed back above $4 a gallon last month as hostilities resumed after an interim ceasefire collapsed.

Trump in June ordered the Justice Department to investigate whether oil companies were engaged in price gouging. The companies and their industry trade groups have pushed back on the price-gouging allegations, arguing that no single producer controls enough of the market to move prices.

Shares of Exxon and Chevron both fell Monday, with Chevron stock down about 2% and ExxonMobil stock down 0.6%, as crude oil prices dropped about 5% on hopes that U.S.-Iran talks could prevent further escalation.