ABSTRACT
Since 2006, a growing number of international and unilateral sanctions have been imposed on the Iranian nuclear programme and its assumed nuclear weapons component. The use of sanctions, as always, raises questions concerning their suitable aims and scope, their real impact on the sanctioned state and society and finally their efficiency in achieving the desired outcome. In the case of Iran, in order to deprive it of its capability to finance a military nuclear programme, the Iranian energy sector – the main source of the country’s revenues -has been a target of those measures. This chapter provides a closer look at the oil, refinery and gas sector, identifying the impact of sanctions on them and finding out whether sanctions have caused serious damage so far or merely a temporary irritation regarding economic development and the Iranian energy supply. 1 The conclusion is reached that until 2006, the effect of sanctions had been limited. The weaknesses of the Iranian energy sector have been caused mainly by the policy of the Iranian regime, in particular by its policy of national control over energy resources. The latest sanctions may have stronger impacts on Iran. They may aggravate the existing problems and will put Iranian authorities under pressure to reconsider their national investment priorities. The outcome of these sanctions will look different in the oil, gasoline and gas sectors.
