State Studies

Economic Sanctions and their Challenges for the Energy Security of Producers: Case Study of Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Ehsan Jafarifar 1
Ali Bagheri Dolat Abadi 2

1 PhD, Department of International Relations, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran.

2 Professor, Department of International Relations, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22054/tssq.2025.70674.1347
Abstract
Iran's economy relies on energy exports, and because of this financial dependence, it is vulnerable to pressures from oil and gas export sanctions. That is why energy security considers one of the most important issues in Iran's political economy.And many believe that Iran's economy will be revived with the lifting of sanctions, however, this research will deal with the issue of Iran's energy security after the sanctions from another perspective. The present study uses the explanatory-analytical method and data collection based on the library method to seek to answer the question what are the most important threats to Iran's energy security? The hypothesis of the article is that Iran's energy security faces serious threats in four categories of production, distribution, sales, and market and customer protection. Findings show that even with the end of sanctions, Iran faces challenges in its energy exports such as falling prices and global demand, disconnection from regional energy networks, unbalanced use of common fields with neighbors, lack of technology, and reduced investment in energy. Therefore, the lifting of sanctions will be a prelude to addressing some of these challenges, such as the reduction of foreign investment and the lack of up-to-date technology, and is not a cure for all of Iran's restrictions and problems. So; it is necessary for Iran to be more active in the energy diplomacy in the world.

A look at the concept of energy security and the threats surrounding it showed that while the existence of huge energy reserves is considered an advantage for Iran, the mere existence of reserves will not strengthen Iran's position in the energy markets; Rather, the other dimension of energy security, which is the ability to produce, transfer and sell energy resources to customers, is of great importance. The concept of energy security states that no country can permanently protect itself against market influences, but all countries are affected by fluctuations in production, supply, price and availability. Apart from production, the issue of energy transfer and joining energy networks is discussed, although the geopolitical position of Iran shows the advantage of energy transfer, both in terms of land and sea, but it must be said that these geopolitical advantages have been used less. On the other hand, Iran's most important challenges in the field of energy are attracting and maintaining the market, extreme fluctuations in the prices of various energy products, and differences between major energy suppliers due to political problems. The research findings for this sector showed that simply expanding relations with Asian powers such as China does not guarantee Iran's energy security; Because China's foreign policy has shown that it is very pragmatic and is not willing to confront the West because of Iran. So; It can be said that Iran's energy position is a function of the policy of countries that try to act realistically in the international environment and seek to secure their national interests. Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that have taken this path and in recent years, affected by the sanctions, they have taken over the share of Iranian oil from the market. This behavior of Saudi Arabia has also lured other Arab players in the region to unilaterally take more than their share from common gas and oil resources in the conditions of Iran's economic and technological weakness. The continuation of this trend in the long term can cause irreparable damage to Iran's energy economy
Based on this, it is suggested that Iran take the following measures to ensure energy security.
*Activating energy diplomacy to join Iran to regional and international energy networks
* Special attention to the development of common fields instead of non-common fields
*Special attention to the discussion of current technologies and strengthening of knowledge base
*Concluding long-term contracts with energy importing countries
* Expansion of regional cooperation in the form of energy institutions and organizations

Keywords

"Iran"
"Energy Security"
"Middle East"
"Sanctions"
"Foreign Investment"
Subjects
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State Studies
Volume 11, Issue 41
Summer 2025
Pages 395-439

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