The Russo-Ukrainian war has been marked by mutual short-range missile and drone attacks, but Ukraine has struggled to gain a significant advantage in aerial warfare. In November of 2024, former President Biden approved the discretionary use of long-range missiles by Ukraine in the ongoing war against Russia. Since then, how have long-range missiles altered the nature of the war?

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.