EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — El Paso Congresswoman Veronica Escobar is urging an end to the war with Iran, fearing that the Borderland could face worsening economic impacts as gas prices continue to rise.
On Thursday, after a press conference where Escobar announced funding for several projects in El Paso, including water infrastructure and cancer research, among other economic projects, the congresswoman criticized the U.S. conflict with Iran, calling the Trump administration’s actions “shameful” and urging Congress to stop what she described as an illegal war, stating that President Donald Trump is doing Israel’s bidding.
“The President went into Iran at the urging of Israel, which has been wanting any U.S. President willing to help them bomb Iran into oblivion,” Escobar said.
Having said that, Escobar also condemned Iran’s leadership, saying, “Iran has been a tyrant in that region. The leadership is inhumane. They are effectively monsters who’ve gone after their own people.”
Escobar said that the administration’s negotiators lacked diplomatic tact, as “The vast majority of people being slaughtered right now by the U.S. and Israel are civilians.”
However, Escobar also warned that the war will hurt people’s pockets and have broader global energy consequences, such as, “The eventual closure of a key artery that provides the world with natural resources, oil, that the world has come to depend on.”
READ MORE: Fuel prices may keep rising as tensions persist with Iran, UTEP economist says
“The key artery” is the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
Tom Fullerton, economics professor from the University of Texas at El Paso, already warned that the war has shut off 90 percent of oil moving through that region, affecting the supply of oil worldwide.
“I think Americans can expect more of an economic spiral that is impacting people who already are struggling to make ends meet,” Escobar said, adding, “Gas prices keep going up.”
Escobar also tied those concerns to domestic energy policy, saying the administration eliminated funding for sustainable energy projects.
“So big solar projects that were planned in El Paso, gone,” Escobar said. “Big wind projects planned in other communities– gone.”
“So the president has made us even more dependent on oil, while at the same time jeopardizing the cost of oil, making sure that it goes up,” she said. “The war needs to end.”
Escobar noted lawmakers voted on a War Powers resolution that she supported, but it failed.
“Unfortunately, we did not have enough Republicans vote with us in order to stop this war,” Escobar said.
RELATED: Trump says when oil prices go up, the US makes a lot of money
Meanwhile, Trump has taken to social media to argue that high oil prices are good for the economy.
“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social.
This, despite Trump stating earlier in the week that the conflict would be over “soon” after oil prices increased.
Trump did not elaborate on the economic benefits, ending his statement by writing that he is more interested in stopping Iran from having nuclear weapons.
Below is Trump’s full TRUTH post:
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