Donald Trump said on Thursday he was not concerned about rising U.S. gas prices driven by the widening Iran conflict, telling Reuters ​in an exclusive interview that the U.S. military operation was his priority.

"I don't have any concern about it," he said, when asked about the higher prices at ‌the pump. "They'll drop very rapidly when this is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit."

The comments mark a shift in tone for the president, who touted a drop in gas prices in his State of the Union address last month and at a Texas rally focused on energy that took place just hours before the U.S. launched its air strikes ​on Saturday.