Democrats urge windfall tax as big oil set to make billions from Iran war

Source: The Guardian

Tue 17 Mar 2026 16.24 EDT
Last modified on Tue 17 Mar 2026 18.33 EDT


With big oil companies poised to reap billions of dollars in profits from the war in Iran, Democratic lawmakers and progressive groups are calling for a windfall tax on major fossil fuel companies.

The US-Israeli strikes on Iran have triggered the largest ever disruption to fuel supply, according to the International Energy Agency, sending crude costs surging over $100 per barrel in recent days. Those high prices have hit US pocketbooks, with average domestic gas prices topping $3.70 a gallon, and Americans spending more than an additional $2bn to fill their tanks in the past fortnight according to one estimate.

As ordinary people struggle, corporations are seeing windfall gains. Since the war began last month, share prices for US oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron have climbed by more than 5% and 7% respectively, while their market values have soared. With oil prices continuing to rise, the Rhode Island senator Sheldon Whitehouse and California congressman Ro Khanna have proposed taxing big oil’s windfall profits from the Iran war-fueled crisis.

“Trump’s war of choice in Iran is not just a moral mistake but an economic blunder that is skyrocketing gas prices for working Americans,” said Khanna in a statement.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/17/democrats-windfall-tax-fossil-fuel-companies-iran-war