Energy imports, net (% of energy use)_

Event_Log

1. 012012SWIFT disconnection and oil-export sanctionsAssociation

   Major Iranian banks cut off from SWIFT messaging; US NDAA sanctions target foreign purchasers of Iranian oil, triggering a sharp rial depreciation through 2012-13.

   Why this link: Net energy imports (deeply negative because Iran is a large net energy EXPORTER) narrowed sharply from -64.6% of energy use (2011) to -37.0% (2012), the single largest one-year narrowing in the series, as the SWIFT disconnection, EU oil embargo and NDAA sanctions cut into the oil/gas export volumes that make this ratio so negative in the first place -- a distinct angle on the same 2012 sanctions shock visible in this database's oil-production and export-revenue charts, here expressed as a shrinking net-energy-exporter position rather than a raw export-dollar decline.

   Caveat: This indicator mixes both the numerator (energy trade) and the denominator (total domestic energy use, itself rising over this period) -- part of the narrowing could reflect growing domestic energy consumption rather than purely falling exports, though the timing strongly suggests the export channel dominates.

   Lag: immediate, 2011-2012Source: USIP Iran Primer — Timeline of U.S. Sanctions
2. 022018US withdraws from JCPOAAssociation

   President Trump announces US withdrawal from the JCPOA and reimposition of sanctions after 90/180-day wind-down periods (effective Aug 7 and Nov 5, 2018).

   Why this link: The ratio narrowed further from -49.8% (2018) to -22.1% (2020), the least negative (smallest net-exporter position) in the entire 1990-2022 series, as oil-export sanctions pushed toward zero cut deeply into the export side of Iran's energy balance.

   Caveat: None substantial beyond the same numerator/denominator caveat noted in the companion 2012 row above.

   Lag: immediate, deepening through 2020Source: Wikipedia — US withdrawal from the JCPOA (cross-check against OFAC primary orders)