Lebanon: Concerns Rise of Total Darkness after the Polls

Lebanon is crippled by frequent power cuts as corruption keeps hindering the improvement of the country's energy sector. (AFP)
Lebanon is crippled by frequent power cuts as corruption keeps hindering the improvement of the country's energy sector. (AFP)
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Lebanon: Concerns Rise of Total Darkness after the Polls

Lebanon is crippled by frequent power cuts as corruption keeps hindering the improvement of the country's energy sector. (AFP)
Lebanon is crippled by frequent power cuts as corruption keeps hindering the improvement of the country's energy sector. (AFP)

Warnings are growing in Lebanon that the country’s lingering electricity crisis could worsen after its parliamentary elections on May 15, amid fears of total darkness engulfing the nation in light of dysfunctional public services.

Walid Fayyad, Lebanon’s Energy Minister declared that the completion of the contract to import gas from Egypt through Syrian territory requires American guarantees in order not to fall under the Caesar law sanctions imposed on Syria.

In talks with the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek al-Mulla in April, Fayyad said that securing the necessary funding is in the hands of the World Bank. He also pointed out that US guarantees are required to exempt Lebanon from the repercussions of the Caesar law for oil transmission to Lebanon through Syria.

Lebanese lawmaker, Nazih Najem told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The problem is not in the agreement with the World Bank nor on how to import gas from Egypt and electricity from Jordan. The real problem is that the decision in Lebanon comes from abroad.”

He said that the government is aware that none of this will happen, but stands idle without looking for alternatives.

The MP said that unfortunately, the government waits for the street to explode in anger instead.

Najem explained that some alternative solutions for importing gas from Egypt and electricity from Jordan were presented to the government eight months ago without receiving any response.

Moreover, he stated that no US guarantees, exempting Egypt and Jordan from sanctions shall they export gas and electricity to Lebanon through Syria, were given to the two countries.

Lebanon suffers from a severe electricity crisis supply and seeks to resolve it through a plan supported by the US through the import of Egyptian gas which will be pumped through Jordan and Syria to operate a power station in North Lebanon. But the agreement was not even signed.

Energy and oil expert, Laury Haytayan told Asharq Al Awsat: “The government’s ambiguity is not reassuring for any foreign party to deal with it.”

She said the World Bank links funding of Lebanon’s electricity plan to the implementation of reforms which “unfortunately are nothing but promises.”



Türkiye and Iraq Reaffirm Commitment to Work Against Kurdish Militants, Other Security Threats 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani shake hands before sponsoring the signing ceremony of memoranda of understanding between Iraq and Türkiye, in Ankara on Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani shake hands before sponsoring the signing ceremony of memoranda of understanding between Iraq and Türkiye, in Ankara on Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP)
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Türkiye and Iraq Reaffirm Commitment to Work Against Kurdish Militants, Other Security Threats 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani shake hands before sponsoring the signing ceremony of memoranda of understanding between Iraq and Türkiye, in Ankara on Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani shake hands before sponsoring the signing ceremony of memoranda of understanding between Iraq and Türkiye, in Ankara on Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening security cooperation on Thursday, vowing to work against threats, including Kurdish militants based on Iraqi territory.

Al-Sudani arrived in Türkiye as the neighboring countries are working to enhance cooperation and mend past tensions.

Relations between Türkiye and Iraq were often strained over Turkish military incursions into northern Iraq for operations against the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and the establishment of Turkish military bases there. Baghdad frequently condemned the incursions as a violation of its sovereignty, while Ankara accused Iraq of not doing enough to fight the PKK.

More recently, however, the two countries have deepened cooperation on security, including addressing the PKK presence in northern Iraq. Last year, Iraq announced that the Iraqi National Security Council had issued a ban on the PKK, although it stopped short of designating it as a terrorist organization.

Erdogan said the two "reaffirmed our determination" to fight against the Kurdish militants, the ISIS group and against members of network that Türkiye accuses of being behind a failed military coup in 2016.

"We once again emphasized that terrorism has no place in the future of our region," Erdogan said.

Al-Sudani said: "What affects Iraq’s security affects Türkiye’s security and vice versa."

"According to our constitution, we do not allow any group to use Iraqi territory to attack neighboring countries," he said.

Erdogan also named former minister Veysel Eroglu as his special envoy to Iraq.

On Thursday, officials inked 11 agreements, including in trade and defense, to advance cooperation between the two countries.

Erdogan stressed the urgency of resuming oil shipments through an Iraqi-Turkish pipeline.

The oil pipeline running from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region to Türkiye has been shut down since March 2023, after an arbitration court ruling ordered Ankara to pay Iraq $1.5 billion for oil exports that bypassed Iraq’s central government in Baghdad. The sharing of oil and gas revenues has long been a contentious issue between Baghdad and Kurdish authorities in Erbil.

Al-Sudani said water supplies to Iraq were also discussed. He said committees were continuing meetings to agree on mechanisms for water management projects.

"We emphasized the need for a fair understanding that respects the interests of both sides, in accordance with principles of equity and good neighborliness," the prime minister said.

In recent years, Iraqi officials have complained that dams built by Türkiye are reducing Iraq’s water supply.

The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which provide most of Iraq’s fresh water, originate in Türkiye. Experts fear that climate change is likely to exacerbate existing water shortages in Iraq.

"Our position is that water levels in the dams are at a minimum, and at the same time, Iraq has received very little rainfall this year," al-Sudani said.

The two also discussed steps to rapidly implement The Development Road Project - a large-scale infrastructure plan to connect the Arabian Gulf with Türkiye by constructing highways and rail links from southern Iraq to the Turkish border.

The Iraqi prime minister's visit comes after the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, called on his group to dissolve and disarm as part of a new peace initiative with Türkiye. The group declared a unilateral ceasefire in March and is now expected to hold a congress in northern Iraq, during which it would announce its dissolution, Turkish officials have said.

The PKK, which has maintained bases in northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region, has fought Türkiye for an autonomous Kurdish state. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s. Türkiye and its Western allies have designated the PKK a terrorist organization.

Al-Sudani said: "We welcome the political process and the disarmament path concerning the PKK."