Lebanese-Syrian Technical Team Inspects Arab Gas Pipeline

Lebanon's then-Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar, Jordan's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati, Syria's Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources Bassam Tohme, and Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla meet in Amman (Reuters)
Lebanon's then-Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar, Jordan's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati, Syria's Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources Bassam Tohme, and Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla meet in Amman (Reuters)
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Lebanese-Syrian Technical Team Inspects Arab Gas Pipeline

Lebanon's then-Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar, Jordan's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati, Syria's Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources Bassam Tohme, and Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla meet in Amman (Reuters)
Lebanon's then-Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar, Jordan's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati, Syria's Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources Bassam Tohme, and Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla meet in Amman (Reuters)

A joint technical team from the Syrian Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ministry and the Lebanese Energy Ministry began on Monday inspecting the Arab Gas Pipeline.

Damascus agreed to Beirut's request for assistance in transmitting Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity through Syrian territory to Lebanon during recent talks held in Damascus.

The Syrian Ministry said in a statement to SANA that the team is expected to submit on Tuesday its report on the technical readiness of the gas pipeline at the Lebanese side.

On September 8, the energy ministers of Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon agreed to supply Lebanon with Egyptian gas during a meeting in Amman.

The plan is part of efforts to address Lebanon’s power shortages using Egyptian gas to be supplied via the Arab pipeline established some 20 years ago.

Lebanon hopes to get enough gas to generate power at a power plant in the north.



Blinken to G7: Iran, Hezbollah Could Start Attacking Israel as Early as Monday

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Munkhbayar Magvandorj)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Munkhbayar Magvandorj)
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Blinken to G7: Iran, Hezbollah Could Start Attacking Israel as Early as Monday

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Munkhbayar Magvandorj)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Munkhbayar Magvandorj)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his counterparts from the G7 countries that Iran and Hezbollah could start attacking Israel as early as Monday, US news service Axios reported.

But Blinken, according to Axios, which cited three sources briefed on the call, said it was unclear how Iran and Hezbollah would attack and did not know the exact timing.

There are mounting fears that Israel's war against Palestinian militants in Gaza could escalate into a wider Middle East conflict.

Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, and they, together with Hezbollah, have vowed revenge.

An Israeli strike in Beirut has also killed Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah military commander.

When asked about the Axios report, the State Department referred to a readout of the call, where it said the ministers discussed "the urgent need for de-escalation in the Middle East."

The Pentagon said on Friday it would deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the region.

"The overall goal is to turn the temperature down in the region, deter and defend against those attacks, and avoid regional conflict," Jonathan Finer, the White House's deputy national security adviser, said on CBS' "Face the Nation" program.

The US and Israel are preparing for every possibility, Finer added.
There was a "very close call" of regional conflagration in April, Finer said, when Iran launched an attack on Israeli territory with drones and missiles after what it called an Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1 that killed seven officers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Syrian capital.