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Among the many parts of the economy that U.S President Donald Trump’s war in Iran has fouled up are the energy markets. And one area has been hit even harder than most: diesel fuel.

The cost of diesel fuel has skyrocketed in the past two months—U.S. diesel prices are up 60 percent over last year—because of the U.S. war on Iran, which has knocked out oil fields, refineries, and energy flows.

Among the many parts of the economy that U.S President Donald Trump’s war in Iran has fouled up are the energy markets. And one area has been hit even harder than most: diesel fuel.

The cost of diesel fuel has skyrocketed in the past two months—U.S. diesel prices are up 60 percent over last year—because of the U.S. war on Iran, which has knocked out oil fields, refineries, and energy flows.

Unless you have operated large equipment or heavy machinery, you may not be familiar with diesel—but the fuel makes the world go round, and there’s less of it now than there used to be. That spells stalled tractors, big rigs that aren’t moving, and a lot of pain for a world built to run on this particular fuel. Everything you buy or eat runs, in the end, on diesel.

Diesel is a “major driver of the economy,” said Koen Wessels, the head of demand at Energy Aspects, a London-based energy consultancy.

For the Trump administration and Republicans, higher prices could pose a risk in the run-up to the high-stakes midterm elections in November, as voters across the country grapple with the painful economic fallout of the ongoing war. Despite the U.S. leader’s outward optimism that the conflict will be “over quickly,” continued uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz—the vital maritime chokepoint that Iran has been strangling—means that shippers and insurers aren’t holding their breath.

The war in the Gulf is particularly alarming not just because it trapped 15 million barrels of crude a day........

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