Iran and Energy Security in the Persian Gulf Region

The Persian Gulf region has been a region of contention and interest not only between the Gulf states, but to outside extra regional powers, owing mainly to its strategic location and its linkage with the Indian Ocean and the Eastern Mediterranean sea, as well as its enormous gas and oil resources which has made the region highly important in global political affairs. Energy is at the heart of the global political economy, and is of importance to global security. These have combined to make the politics of energy within the region highly complicated, and has left the region volatile for quite some time. This paper examines the security of energy within the region, focusing on the struggle for control and influence within the region among the Gulf states and extra regional powers, including the United states, Russia, India, China, the EU states and Turkey who are seen as big players , as a result of which the region has become unstable. The paper argues that no security arrangement would succeed in the region without the cooperation and involvement of Iran.