'Trump is an idiot': Californians fume over soaring petrol prices

Employees of Basra Oil Company, work at the Nahr Bin Umar Oil and Gas Field on the outskirts of the southern Iraqi city of Basra on April 29, 2026. [AFP]

At a gas station in Los Angeles, Ryder Thomas wore a grimace of barely suppressed anger as he filled his pickup truck, watching the cost tick up to $130 for a full tank -- $30 more than he was paying before the US and Israel attacked Iran.

"I'm mad about the price, but I'm even madder about why it's so high," the 28-year-old told AFP.