While the conflict could raise prices at the pump for American consumers, China will feel the biggest disruption to its energy market.

Most of Iran's exported oil goes to China and is carried on so-called "shadow ships," tankers that actively conceal their activities to evade sanctions or other restrictions. The U.S. has recently escalated its sanctions enforcement on shadow fleets in an attempt to limit their activities.

Global oil and gas prices jumped on Tuesday as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran halted energy exports from the Middle East, with Tehran attacking ships and energy facilities, closing navigation in the Gulf and forcing production stoppages from Qatar to Iraq.

The United States is pumping more oil than any country in world history. Without all that crude, Americans could already be paying $4 or even $5 a gallon for gasoline, making the energy spike caused by the war with Iran even more painful.

Iran borders the Strait of Hormuz —a key shipping route that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. “It's a very narrow choke point, and if it's closed, or if passage is restricted, there's no other way out,” says Jim Krane, energy research fellow and Middle East specialist at Rice University's Baker Institute.

Oil futures rose on Monday following joint U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran over the weekend, as the escalating conflict expanded across the Middle East and raised fears of disruptions to global energy supplies.

Qatar has suspended liquefied natural gas (LNG) production after two Iranian drones struck energy facilities operated by state-owned QatarEnergy.

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Global oil and gas prices jumped on Tuesday as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran halted energy exports from the Middle East, with Tehran