While representing a major symbolic step, finalizing Iranian membership in the Shanghai Pact is not a panacea for the country’s current political, economic, and security challenges. Before the outbreak of recent mass protests, Iranian leaders were working to ameliorate their country’s international isolation through official membership in the Shanghai Cooperation …
Read More »Winter is Coming: Iran’s Looming Energy Crisis
The Iranian government has vowed to increase its gas output and international exports, but cannot produce enough to keep the lights on at home. The Iranian government is currently embroiled in the most serious threat to its rule since the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988. The protests surrounding …
Read More »Striking Oil: How Strikes in Iran’s Energy Sector Could Shape the Protest Movement
In 1979, oil workers in Iran dealt a blow to the Pahlavi dynasty; now, instability in Iran’s energy sector could once again put tremendous pressure on the regime or lead to the fall of the Islamic Republic itself. Considering the central role of energy exports to Iran’s economy, the security …
Read More »Why Iran Opposes Azerbaijan’s Zangezur Corridor Project
There is a concern in Iran that Azerbaijan intends for the project to block Iran’s border with Armenia as the proposed route of the Zanzegur Corridor project runs along the full length of the border. The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, fought from September to November 2020, ended with a significant victory for …
Read More »The United States Cannot Influence Global Oil Markets
Considering the increase in demand in the market and the concern of the producing countries about the future of the oil market, and the desire of these countries to increase the production capacity, it is not possible to expect the market to return to normal conditions in the short run. …
Read More »Regional security and energy are the main axes of Iran-Oman relations
Without the lifting of sanctions and a fundamental change in Iran’s foreign policy, it won’t be easy to resolve tensions in the region and increase the level of political and economic relations with neighbors. Regionalism and the development of Iran’s relations with Russia and China are among the presidency’s priorities in …
Read More »Iran Cannot Develop its Oil Sector Without Sanctions Relief
Iran can neither increase its oil and natural gas production capacity, nor attract the necessary foreign capital and technology for their expansion, without the lifting of sanctions. Thanks to a combination of Western animosity and Iran’s regional foreign policy, the country’s energy industry has faced ever more onerous sanctions in …
Read More »There are challenges and opportunities in relations between Iran and Venezuela
Political and economic relations between Iran and Venezuela have grown over the past two decades. The South American country has the largest known oil reserves in the world but, despite being recognised as a leading economy on the continent for many years, Venezuela is a prime example of the “economic …
Read More »Cheaper Russian oil is the scourge of cheap Iranian oil
Iran’s oil sales have risen under the Biden administration, but if the Ukraine crisis and Iran’s current policy in the nuclear talks continue, the US could tighten conditions for selling Iranian oil. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted global oil trade and has given Iran the opportunity to increase exports to China, …
Read More »How the Arash-Dorra Gas Field Could Improve Saudi-Iran Ties
Energy diplomacy and national interest suggest a good opportunity for Iran and Saudi Arabia, each within the framework of its own national interests, to jointly extract oil and gas from this field. Over the past two decades, Iran’s Ministry of Oil had made increasing the production capacity of oil and …
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