When crowds took to Iran’s streets to protest against the government in early 2026, the images seemed familiar. The demonstrators across cities, not just Tehran, chanted against political authority, and security forces responded with overwhelming force. But one of the most important stories of the current movement and politics of Iran is not whether the protests are visible. Rather, the more important story is how repeated cycles of protest and repression have transformed how young Iranians think about power, risk and the possibility of change.

This paper argues that the Iran-Iraq War was essential to the securitization of Iran’s energy sector by transforming it from a standard political issue into a matter of national survival. The paper will first examine how Iran enabled the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to consolidate control of the country’s energy industry as a means of safeguarding it from external pressure, followed by an investigation into how the regime created a secret “shadow fleet” network to facilitate illicit oil exports, which Iran began to perceive as a crucial tool for its survival. Finally, the paper will explore how Iran has employed a range of unconventional tactics to defend its critical energy infrastructure from external attack, thereby cementing Tehran’s energy sector as a top priority for the regime.