U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal and Santa Maria Valley Railroad President Rob Himoto conducted a walking tour at SMVRR Tuesday to connect with community members about local economic shifts following the U.S. and Israel’s joint war against Iran, specifically the significant spike in diesel prices.
Initiated on Feb. 28, 2026, the U.S. and Israel decided to declare war on Iran and conducted joint strikes on Iran, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Because of the war, crude oil supply which is one of the main ingredients of gasoline, has become much more expensive since access to the crude oil in the Middle East has become more difficult.
At the event, as given by his communications director Eduardo Carrizosa, “Trump’s illegal war in Iran is driving a global energy crisis that hits us right here on the Central Coast,” Carbajal said.
However, President Donald Trump had a different approach to the situation as addressed within his public statement to the nation on April 1, 2026.
“Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline prices here at home. This short-term increase has been entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers in neighboring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict,” Trump said.
As of last Thursday, diesel prices in California reached an average of $7.52 per gallon when around the same time a month ago it was $5.10 .
Santa Maria Valley Railroad is a 14-mile railroad track that relies on diesel for fuel and is a vessel for commodities to be transferred such as fertilizer, frozen food, asphalt,etc. Now, these processes have become much more expensive and difficult to conduct.
This also goes for many points of transportation around the state and country. Diesel sales represent 17% of fuel sales within California. And with delivery trucks, cargo planes, fishing boats and farming equipment, the overall transportation of goods and flow of the economy is being disrupted with skyrocketing fuel prices.
Rising diesel prices not only affects the companies and local businesses running these modes of transportation, but could also eventually have an impact on consumers of these items to accommodate the extra expenses.
“When critical transportation links face rising costs, those expenses are passed directly to consumers. Between these war-induced fuel cost hikes, Trump’s tariffs, and the Republican-led cuts to healthcare and SNAP, families and small businesses are being pushed to the breaking point,” Carbajal said.