The anti-regime protests in Iran spread to the oil and gas sector this week as workers in critical facilities went on strike. The move could affect the lifeblood of Iran's economy and marks a significant expansion of the protests as the bloody uprising against Iran's Islamic Republic enters its fourth week. The demonstrations, largely led by women, began last month after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was taken into custody by Iran's morality police after they accused her of failing to cover her hair properly. Iranian security forces maintain that Amini died of a heart attack, but her family say blows to the head killed her. The killings of two other teenage girls during the unrest have added fuel to the fire. On Tuesday, widely circulated social media videos showed energy workers staging demonstrations outside oil refineries and a petrochemical plant in Abadan and Assaluyeh, vital energy hubs. The strikes have not curtailed production so far, but they carry some notable historical echoes. During Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, strikes in the energy and merchant sectors played a critical role in overthrowing the shah. No strikes even approaching that scale are happening now, but any significant growth of work stoppages in oil and gas could hamper prospects for Iran to become a more prominent player on the global energy stage, as Europe scrambles to shore up its natural gas reserves before winter. Russia's energy war has destabilized the continent's supplies, and the Biden administration failed to persuade Saudi Arabia to boost oil production. The administration is now considering alternative ways to cushion the energy fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine — for example, the politically risky possibility of allowing Venezuela to resume oil exports in exchange for a restoration of democracy. The administration has not spoken publicly about whether it's considering such a step. Iranian officials last month said they hoped the United States would ease its sanctions to allow Iran to boost natural gas exports, but a workforce on strike could hinder the country's prospects.
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