(NEXSTAR) – The federal reserve left interest rates unchanged, as Chairman Jerome Powell warns of an energy shock following the U.S. and Israeli military action in Iran. "We had the tariff shock, we had the pandemic and now we have an energy shock," Powell said at a press conference on Wednesday. Core inflation remained at 3.1%, slightly higher than the Fed's 2% goal. Following military strikes on Iran, Iranian leadership cut off most access to the Strait of Hormuz. A fifth of the world's oil transits through it. "If there's a shock anywhere in the market, it has global repercussions," said Prof. Robert Weiner from George Washington University. The price of oil per barrel surged nearly 50% since the beginning of the war. According to AAA, gas prices are up nearly 90 cents per gallon, on average, over a month ago. "The President said this, and I certainly agree with it; this is a temporary blip," said Vice President JD Vance during an economic speech in Michigan. "When this operation draws to a close, we're going to see those energy prices come back down to reality." In the meantime, and to increase the world's oil supply, the Trump administration eased sanctions on oil from Venezuela and from Russia. The U.S. Government had, for years, largely blocked U.S. companies from dealing with Venezuelan oil producers. The Trump administration also eased sanctions on certain Russian oil shipments over the next 30 days. Most European countries stopped taking Russian oil after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. "The Russian oil companies will benefit, but the Russian government will end up benefiting the most," Weiner said. Weiner said Iran is continuing to sell oil through the Strait of Hormuz and benefiting from the higher price of oil per barrel. "The Iranian treasury is benefiting tremendously," Weiner said. The oil expert said markets show investors believe higher oil prices will be limited to 2026 and maybe early 2027.