On Nov. 10, President Hassan Rouhani told the Iranian people of a discovery of 53 billion barrels of crude oil in the southwest province of Khuzestan. 

“The new oil field could become Iran’s second-largest field after one containing 65 billion barrels in Ahvaz. 

The field is 2,400 square kilometers — or 925 square miles, with the deposit some 80 meters — or 260 feet — deep, Rouhani said,” according to The Associated Press. 

The addition of 53 billion barrels would propel Iran’s 150 oil reserves about a third, which Iran has been struggling to export due to crippling U.S. 

The presence of valuable minerals and resources in a country can make it a very powerful geopolitical force. 

Apart from having the fourth largest deposit of crude oil in the world as a founding member of the Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries, Iran also has a plethora of nonfuel minerals.

Iran has plenty of valuable commodities, but that is useless if Iran doesn’t have the means to extract, refine and especially the means to export. 

Iran will not be immune from other countries or international organizations
who want access to those resources.

It is likely that a country could perhaps invade Iran in the next several years, if the 53 billion barrels of new oil is indeed proven to exist. 

It was a miscalculated and foolish mistake for Rouhani to announce the new oil reserves. This attempt for Iran to try to appear unaffected by U.S. sanctions will bite back.

From Hong Kong to Chile and France to Iran, there are protests occurring for a variety of different reasons. 

As of Nov. 15, Iranians are now protesting across 100 towns and cities, including the capital Tehran, against a 50% increase in gasoline prices, The New York Times reported. 

To increase the price of gas in a time of high inflation and crippling sanctions will cause serious problems. 

High unemployment, inflation and high costs of living will create a ripe atmosphere for chaos and civil war.

The U.S. sanctions are successful in getting leadership pressured as the protesters are fighting against the theocratic government of Iran. 

To stop news of unrest spreading around the world, Iran has also clamped down on internet usage down to 5%, according to Netblocks, a nongovernmental organization that monitors cybersecurity and governance of the internet. 

This is going to be a very fatal mistake. The world will see Iran as a weak authoritarian state and other countries may see the right to intervene in the name of democracy, for Iran is sitting on billions of dollars. 

It is important that people see the danger in the possibility of another civil war, and perhaps another U.S. intervention.