The Iran oil crisis has cost UK drivers £4 billion through higher fuel prices, according to new analysis.Motoring research charity, the RAC Foundation, estimated that rises in pump prices since the conflict in the Middle East began on February 28 have led to motorists paying £3 billion more for diesel and just over £1 billion more for petrol.The figures are based on average daily pump price rises and last year’s fuel consumption rate.The analysis also shows that the additional VAT received by the Treasury because fuel is more expensive has reached almost £670 million.VAT on road fuel is charged at 20 per cent on top of the combined price of the product and fuel duty, with the latter standing at nearly 53p per litre.Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer announced last month that a planned rise in fuel duty from September 1 has been scrapped until at least the end of the year.Iran’s restrictions on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz led to oil prices hitting their highest level since 2022.UK motorway (stock image) (Getty/iStock)The average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts is about 24p more expensive than before the war began, with the cost of a litre of diesel about 36p higher.Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “The conflict in the Persian Gulf has, on average, cost drivers and businesses around £260 million per week in extra spending on the forecourt.“Whilst oil prices have eased back from their recent highs, pump prices are still far above where they were before the bombs started dropping and prices look set to stay elevated even if a sustainable peace deal is secured.“Tens of millions of UK drivers will be paying the price of this war for weeks, or more likely months, to come.”Donald Trump has said an agreement on a US-Iran peace deal “is now complete” and the Strait of Hormuz oil and gas shipping route is to be reopened without tolls.Oil prices dropped after the US president made the announcement, with Brent crude falling more than 4 per cent at one stage on Monday to just above 83 US dollars a barrel, marking its lowest level for more than three months.