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Egypt Inks Gas Deals in Western Region, Warns Turkey against Unilateral Moves

A man walks along the bank of the Nile River in front of high towers of hotels, banks and office buildings in Cairo, Egypt, December 17, 2019. (Reuters)
A man walks along the bank of the Nile River in front of high towers of hotels, banks and office buildings in Cairo, Egypt, December 17, 2019. (Reuters)
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Egypt Inks Gas Deals in Western Region, Warns Turkey against Unilateral Moves

A man walks along the bank of the Nile River in front of high towers of hotels, banks and office buildings in Cairo, Egypt, December 17, 2019. (Reuters)
A man walks along the bank of the Nile River in front of high towers of hotels, banks and office buildings in Cairo, Egypt, December 17, 2019. (Reuters)

Egypt announced on Monday the signing of petroleum agreements for oil and natural gas exploration in the Mediterranean and Western Desert region near the Libyan border, the first such moves in the area.

The agreements coincided with Cairo again indirectly warning Turkey against the repercussions of any unilateral moves that could breach the rights of Cyprus and threaten to the security and stability of the Middle East.

On Monday, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla signed nine agreements for oil and natural gas exploration in the Mediterranean and Western Desert region, with a minimum investment of about $452.3 million.

He said: “This is in addition to signing grants of about $84 million and drilling 38 wells.”

In 2017, the US Geological Survey (USGS) assessed that the natural gas reserve in the Mediterranean ranges between 340 and 360 trillion cubit feet.

El-Molla said that with Monday’s deals, the number of oil agreements signed by the ministry with investors and partners since July 2014 has reached 79.

Four other agreements approved by the Egyptian House of Representatives will be signed later.
He explained that the ministry's strategy involves offering new international bids during the coming period, as well as concluding more oil deals.

The minister asserted that the oil sector is “the backbone of economic development,” and that the agreements will attract new foreign investments that should help in boosting and maximizing Egypt's oil reserves and production.

Ahmed Qandil, director of the Energy Studies Program at the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday that the area where Egypt signed the new agreements on exploration had never witnessed such operations before.

On Sunday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry reaffirmed its respect for the rights and sovereignty of Cyprus in the Middle East under international law and related United Nations maritime conventions, including the areas in which Cyprus has license to explore for oil and natural gas.

Cairo and Ankara are embroiled in a legal and political dispute over oil and gas exploration in the Mediterranean Sea.

On February 2018, Turkey said it does not recognize the Maritime Demarcation Agreement signed between Egypt and Cyprus in 2013 to draw up the maritime boarder between the two countries to exploit natural resources in the Eastern Mediterranean.

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Arab World

Hezbollah Official Says Lebanon-Israel Talks 'Do Not Concern Us'

A Hezbollah flag is displayed from a car window, next to a dog, as displaced people make their way to return to their homes after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, in Sidon, Lebanon, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
A Hezbollah flag is displayed from a car window, next to a dog, as displaced people make their way to return to their homes after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, in Sidon, Lebanon, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
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Hezbollah Official Says Lebanon-Israel Talks 'Do Not Concern Us'

A Hezbollah flag is displayed from a car window, next to a dog, as displaced people make their way to return to their homes after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, in Sidon, Lebanon, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
A Hezbollah flag is displayed from a car window, next to a dog, as displaced people make their way to return to their homes after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, in Sidon, Lebanon, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qamati said on Saturday that his group was not concerned by Lebanon's planned direct talks with Israel, labelling them a failure, Reuters reported.

In a press conference in Beirut's southern suburbs, Qamati said his group was "not concerned with the negotiations being conducted by the state", saying they were "a failure, weak, defeated... and submissive negotiations".

"The resistance is the one that imposes. We are the land... and we are the ones who draw up the decisions, not those who have an official status," he said, adding that while his group did not mind Beirut "coordinating with us... not in this way that leads to surrender".

Arab World

Abdelatty: Egypt Working with Pakistan on Lasting US-Iran Peace Plan

This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Foreign Ministry on April 17, 2026, shows Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2nd R), Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud (R), Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty (L) and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (2nd L) poses family photo during the 5th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2026) in Antalya. (Photo by Turkish Foreign Ministery Press Service / TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Foreign Ministry on April 17, 2026, shows Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2nd R), Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud (R), Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty (L) and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (2nd L) poses family photo during the 5th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2026) in Antalya. (Photo by Turkish Foreign Ministery Press Service / TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP)
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Abdelatty: Egypt Working with Pakistan on Lasting US-Iran Peace Plan

This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Foreign Ministry on April 17, 2026, shows Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2nd R), Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud (R), Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty (L) and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (2nd L) poses family photo during the 5th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2026) in Antalya. (Photo by Turkish Foreign Ministery Press Service / TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Foreign Ministry on April 17, 2026, shows Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2nd R), Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud (R), Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty (L) and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (2nd L) poses family photo during the 5th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2026) in Antalya. (Photo by Turkish Foreign Ministery Press Service / TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP)

Egypt is working closely with Pakistan on a framework aimed at securing a lasting peace between the US and Iran, ⁠Foreign Minister Badr ⁠Abdelatty said on Saturday.

He said Egypt, Türkiye, Pakistan and ⁠Saudi Arabia were coordinating a broader regional effort focused on preventing renewed escalation and laying the groundwork for a post-war security arrangement, stressing ⁠the ⁠importance of protecting Gulf states and stabilizing energy markets, supply chains and food security.

Abdelatty’s statement came as Iran has swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway on Saturday after US President Donald Trump said that even after Tehran announced the strait's reopening on Friday, the American blockade “will remain in full force” until the country reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear program.

The conflict over the chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy after oil prices began to fall again on Friday on hopes the US and Iran were drawing closer to an agreement.

Arab World

Yemen: Houthi Infighting Exposes Deepening Fractures

A gathering of Yemen’s Qaifa tribes rejecting Houthi death sentences against 11 of their members (X)
A gathering of Yemen’s Qaifa tribes rejecting Houthi death sentences against 11 of their members (X)
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Yemen: Houthi Infighting Exposes Deepening Fractures

A gathering of Yemen’s Qaifa tribes rejecting Houthi death sentences against 11 of their members (X)
A gathering of Yemen’s Qaifa tribes rejecting Houthi death sentences against 11 of their members (X)

Rising violence within Yemen’s Houthi movement is highlighting deep internal divisions, as competition over influence and resources intensifies amid growing isolation and public discontent, analysts and local sources say.

Recent incidents point to a weakness in managing internal disputes, with clashes increasingly erupting among the group’s own commanders. The absence of stable mechanisms to regulate rivalries, alongside declining trust in Houthi-run institutions, has fueled tensions.

One of the most serious episodes occurred last week in Jabal Ras district, south of Hodeidah province, where a local security headquarters turned into a battleground. Local sources said a dispute between Mohammed Abbas al-Qahif, the Houthi-appointed security chief, and field commander Abu Bashar Habib Mutlaq escalated into a gunfight inside the compound. Machine guns were used in a densely populated area, wounding fighters on both sides and critically injuring a civilian as the clashes spread outside.

The incident is part of a broader pattern. In recent weeks, several Houthi security and field leaders have been killed in the provinces of al-Jawf, al-Mahwit, Sanaa and al-Bayda.

Yemeni political researcher Salah Ali Salah said such conflicts “have become more frequent and visible,” reflecting the accumulation of competing power networks formed during years of war. These networks have reshaped internal hierarchies and weakened tribal and social actors that once supported or benefited from the group.

He added that tensions are increasingly shifting from the periphery into the core of the movement, with disputes among supervisors and commanders driven by competition over authority, resources and influence. These conflicts, he said, often require direct intervention from senior leadership to contain them.

Violence linked to personal disputes and widespread weapon ownership has also surged. In one case in Sanaa, tribal figure Abdulrazzaq al-Athri was killed by his brother Mohammed, described as a Houthi-affiliated gunman, following a land dispute in Arhab district.

In al-Bayda’s Radaa district, another tribal leader, Mohammed al-Rubaie, was killed in an ambush by unidentified gunmen, while an elderly man from Ibb province was shot dead in a separate incident. The district has become a hotspot for both lawlessness and confrontations between residents and Houthi forces.

Tensions have further escalated after a Houthi court sentenced 11 members of the Qaifa tribe to death over a previous tribal dispute with Sanhan tribes. Qaifa leaders say the ruling was issued without due legal process and accuse Houthi figure Yahya al-Razami of bias.

Analyst Bassem Mansour linked the growing chaos to the group’s isolation and leadership constraints. Senior figures, he said, are preoccupied with military and regional developments and often operate in secrecy for fear of Israeli targeting, leaving field commanders to act impulsively in the face of public resentment.

Residents report worsening living conditions and deteriorating services, fueling frustration that increasingly manifests in violent personal disputes. A Sanaa-based researcher, speaking anonymously for safety reasons, said public anger at Houthi policies is rising daily.

Security institutions, once tools of control, are now seen as arenas for settling scores, while judicial bodies have lost credibility due to perceived corruption and inefficiency. The proliferation of weapons have further undermined order.

As the situation persists, civilians remain the most vulnerable, caught between internal Houthi rivalries and unchecked violence, with little prospect of restored stability.