Iran's Energy Security Threats in the Hybrid Warfare Era

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Political Science, ST. C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Political Science & International Relations, ST. C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

10.22124/wp.2026.34288.3690

Abstract

Energy security, as a fundamental pillar of national security and sustainable development, faces unprecedented and multidimensional threats in the era of hybrid warfare. This article employs an explanatory-analytical methodology using a novel combined model based on Hoffman's hybrid warfare theory and the Copenhagen School's energy securitization theory to investigate how hybrid warfare instruments affect Iran's four-dimensional energy security indicators. Hybrid warfare (including energy sanctions, cyber-attacks, and diplomatic pressures) is defined as the independent variable, and Iran's energy security (in terms of availability, accessibility, affordability, and environmental sustainability) as the dependent variable. Findings reveal that energy sanctions, as the primary hybrid warfare tool, negatively and structurally affect all energy security indicators through mediating mechanisms such as reduced foreign exchange earnings and technology restrictions, and are moderated by variables such as domestic management and aging infrastructure. Contextualizing this within the structural violence framework, the article proposes multidimensional countermeasures.

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