Why Iran and America are Adversaries

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Written by: Chris Cappy and Josh Simpson
Video Editing: Savvy Studios
Animations: Ralph Ramos

Iran has a population of 83 million citizens making them the 18th most populated nation. They have a lot of neighbors on their borders that very much do not get along with each other including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey and Iraq.

Iran is located at the crossroads of Central Asia, South Asia and the middle east making it a strategically important location for trade routes throughout all of history. Their GDP has recently plummeted from 580 billion in 2010 down to 191 billion in 2022 in part due to United States economic sanctions. Iran's defense spending on the other hand has increased by 11 percent in 2021 making them the world’s 14th largest military spender.

So what has prevented Iran from getting conquered by all of these pesky neighbors that essentially have them surrounded? Iran has a secret weapon. Their geography is made up of tall impregnable mountain ranges that encircle their entire country and act kind of like castle walls. The Zagros and Elburz Mountains naturally have their back. The Caspian and Arabian sea all protect against would be invaders. These geographic features are the reason why the highest population density is in the west of the country. The nation is 636,000 square miles in total so it’s bigger than all of western Europe put together.

To understand why Iran is so geopolitically important and why it's such a big interest to NATO today you need only look at its natural resources. Iran holds approximately 10% of the world's proven oil reserves and about 15% of its gas. They are OPEC's second largest exporter and the world's fourth largest oil producer.

Iran is one of the world's most geo-strategic locations because of the Strait of Hormuz. According to the US Energy Information administration there are six straits and canals in the world that act as oil transit chokepoints. These are vulnerable narrow maritime sea routes that could and have been easily blockaded and attacked in the past causing chaos in the world's energy stability. The Iranian Strait of Hormuz is considered to be the GOAT of strategically important oil choke points in the world. 21% of the entire worldwide demand for oil flows through it. These oil reserves are Iran's greatest strength.

An estimated 18.5 million barrels of oil move through the strait of Hormuz per day. At its most narrow point its only 30 miles wide which would make it easy for the Iranian Navy to completely blockade.

#IRAN #MILITARY #NEWS

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