New York, New York - Amid surging fuel prices due to his war with Iran, President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed support for an outright ban on the export of US-produced diesel.

"I've called for that too. I've said let's not send out the diesel," Trump told reporters when asked whether his administration has considered a total ban on diesel exports. The question came during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"We make a lot of diesel. That could have a little bit of an effect on regular automobile gasoline," he said.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was also present at the talks in New York, said Washington was examining "whether it's feasible in terms of the overall refining capacity and whether a full or partial ban would work."

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Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters last week that he was "open" to a diesel export ban "if that would take pressure off of prices."

Fuel prices have soared since Trump made the decision to go to war, alongside Israel, with Iran in late February. The war has become a major problem for the Republicans, who are staring down the barrel of a potentially disastrous midterm election.

The risk of further increases in global fuel prices has been intensifying over recent weeks, as Yemen's Houthi rebels have sought to control the Bab al-Mandab Strait and have attacked Saudi Arabian ships in the Gulf of Aden.

Iran's blockage of the Hormuz Strait has already hindered about 20% of the world's oil supply. If the Bab al-Mandab Strait becomes fully inaccessible to the world's third-largest oil producer, the economic impact would be devastating.