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Israel-Turkey Gas Pipeline an Option for Russia-wary Europe

The production platform of Leviathan natural gas field is seen in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Haifa, June 9, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The production platform of Leviathan natural gas field is seen in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Haifa, June 9, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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Israel-Turkey Gas Pipeline an Option for Russia-wary Europe

The production platform of Leviathan natural gas field is seen in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Haifa, June 9, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The production platform of Leviathan natural gas field is seen in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Haifa, June 9, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A Turkey-Israel gas pipeline is being discussed behind the scenes as one of Europe’s alternatives to Russian energy supplies, but it will take complicated maneuvering to reach any deal, government and industry officials in both countries say.

The idea, first conceived years ago, is to build a subsea pipeline from Turkey to Israel’s largest offshore natural gas field, Leviathan. Gas would flow to Turkey and on to southern European neighbors looking to diversify away from Russia.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said last week that gas cooperation was “one of the most important steps we can take together for bilateral ties,” and told reporters he was ready to send top ministers to Israel to revive the pipeline idea that has lingered for years.

A senior Turkish official told Reuters talks have continued since Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Ankara earlier this month and “concrete decisions” could follow in coming months on a proposed route and participating entities.

Industry officials are more circumspect, however, saying production restraints and geopolitics could leave the plan dead in the water.

The Leviathan field already supplies Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Its owners – Chevron (CVX.N) and Israeli firms NewMed Energy and Ratio Oil (RATIp.TA) – plan to crank up production from 12 to 21 billion cubic meters (BCM) a year.

By comparison, the European Union imported 155 billion cubic meters of Russian gas last year, covering close to 40% of its consumption.

Much of the extra gas output will be liquified and exported on ships to Europe or the Far East, according to NewMed. Its chief executive said last month Turkey could become a destination too, but needed to put “skin in the game” and commit to building the pipeline.

Asked about talks with Turkey, the Leviathan partners declined to comment.

Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar told Ynet news on Sunday many considerations had yet to be discussed, including the finances.

“It needs to be found economically feasible, which is not something self-evident,” she said.

Israel and Turkey are looking to put a decade of diplomatic impasses, usually over Israeli-Palestinian issues, behind them. Energy partnership could be key, especially after Russian invasion of Ukraine made Europe more determined to find alternatives to its energy supplies.

“There has been a recent rapprochement with Israel and we want its gas to transit Turkey en route to Europe,” said another Turkish official. “Israel is looking positively on this, some talks have been held and there is a will to do it.”

Turkey consumes about 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year and imports nearly all of that, most through pipelines from Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan. It is well placed as a transport hub in the region where energy politics can be heated.

The pipeline would run 500-550 km and cost up to 1.5 billion to build, according to Israeli officials, making it more manageable than the 6 billion euro pipeline EastMed proposed to connect Israel with Cyprus, Greece and Italy.

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World

Iran Attacks US Targets Despite Trump Threats

Trump said the US military was prepared to attack Iran 'any time we want'. US NAVY/AFP
Trump said the US military was prepared to attack Iran 'any time we want'. US NAVY/AFP
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Iran Attacks US Targets Despite Trump Threats

Trump said the US military was prepared to attack Iran 'any time we want'. US NAVY/AFP
Trump said the US military was prepared to attack Iran 'any time we want'. US NAVY/AFP

Iran attacked US military bases in Kuwait on Thursday, despite President Donald Trump threatening further strikes in a fresh flare-up six months into the war.

The new clashes, which began with US raids on Sunday, deepen the ongoing impasse in the war, as Iran maintains a stranglehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the US presses its counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump said his military was prepared to attack Iran "any time we want" after extensive US bombardment of sites across the country left at least 19 Iranians dead between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tehran has once again retaliated with strikes across the Middle East this week, saying it targeted US bases and forces in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq's Kurdistan region.

Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei warned the United States on Wednesday that Iran had adopted a "new strategy" in the war that "will shatter your foundations".

Iran's pummeling of US military targets across the region came after a US attack that hit a wedding in the country's south, prompting fury from Tehran.

The Iranian Red Crescent said shrapnel from the missile attack in the coastal town of Kuhestak killed four people, including a child, and wounded more than 50.

The US military did not address the attack directly.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Tim Hawkins said "the US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC", referring to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Kuwait's army on Thursday said it was intercepting a missile and drone attack from Iran, with the Iranian army saying it hit "the Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait with missiles and drones".

- 'Maximum pressure' -

Kuwait called the attacks "a direct threat to its security and stability, and the safety of its citizens and residents on its territory, and a grave breach of the rules of international law".

Aside from military action, Washington has vowed to choke Iran's economy, threatening to slap sanctions on its trade partners.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright pledged on Wednesday that a US plan for expanded sanctions targeting the Iranian republic's economic partners would deliver "absolutely maximum pressure".

Trump also suggested on Wednesday renaming the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping lane that Tehran has effectively shut for six months, as "Trump Strait" -- although he implied later that he wasn't serious.

"Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???" the US president wrote on Truth Social.

- 'Acts like Satan' -

Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf lashed out at Washington over the wedding attack, calling the United States "Satan".

"If a power acts like Satan, picks targets like Satan, and kills like Satan, it's Satan," he posted on X.

Iranians meanwhile expressed dismay over the return to hostilities.

Hossein Moazami, 50, who is self-employed, called the attacks "truly distressing".

"I hope they all return to the negotiating table because the only people suffering from this are the Iranian people," he said. "The Americans are on the other side of the world and nothing happens to them."

A video shared by an Iranian government account showed debris and damage at what it said was the wedding site in Kuhestak following the US strike, with people heard screaming in the background.

"It is a very saddening incident," Ali Mallahi, father of the bride and owner of the building that was hit, said in a video carried by state TV.

"Thank God the casualties were not higher."

The war erupted on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran that killed its supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

A fragile ceasefire collapsed in July after attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of world oil supplies previously flowed.

Israel's defense minister meanwhile said his country was prepared to respond "with great force" if attacked by Iran over the Jewish high holiday season, which begins in mid-September.

"For now, they are striking throughout the region except us," Israel Katz said.

World

Türkiye Detains Nine Tanker Crew after Collision

FILE - People sit in front of cargo ships anchor in the Marmara Sea await to cross the Bosphorus Straits in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
FILE - People sit in front of cargo ships anchor in the Marmara Sea await to cross the Bosphorus Straits in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
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Türkiye Detains Nine Tanker Crew after Collision

FILE - People sit in front of cargo ships anchor in the Marmara Sea await to cross the Bosphorus Straits in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
FILE - People sit in front of cargo ships anchor in the Marmara Sea await to cross the Bosphorus Straits in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

Turkish authorities have detained nine of the 10 crew of an oil tanker after it collided with a cargo ship that sank off Istanbul, state media reported Thursday.

The ALSU, an empty oil tanker, collided early on Wednesday with the Tugberk Imamoglu, a cargo vessel carrying rolled steel, 18 nautical miles off Silivri district on the western edge of Istanbul province, said AFP.

Officials said the damaged cargo ship sank "very quickly" in about 900 meters (3,000 feet) of sea, with all 10 crew members missing.

The ALSU was not damaged in the collision, the cause of which was not immediately clear.

Anadolu news agency said nine crew members on the ALSU, excluding the cook, had been detained and had given statements to the police.

Search and rescue operations continued with 18 vessels, five helicopters, two unmanned aerial vehicles and an aircraft involved alongside an a navy vessel conducting underwater searches.

The Tugberk Imamoglu is a 90-meter (300-foot) Turkish-flagged cargo ship built in 1990, according to the VesselFinder tracking website.

Authorities said it was carrying 4,200 tons of rolled steel sheets and reinforcing bars at the time of the collision.

The maritime directorate initially said the ALSU was carrying 3,000 tons of motor oil, but later said the tanker was empty, a detail confirmed by the Istanbul governor's office.

World

With His Eye on Reelection, Israel's Netanyahu Turns His Focus to His Divided Base

(FILES) Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session of the Israeli Parliament at the Knesset in Jerusalem on July 16, 2026, before the start of the election recess ahead of the October 27 general election. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP)
(FILES) Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session of the Israeli Parliament at the Knesset in Jerusalem on July 16, 2026, before the start of the election recess ahead of the October 27 general election. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP)
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With His Eye on Reelection, Israel's Netanyahu Turns His Focus to His Divided Base

(FILES) Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session of the Israeli Parliament at the Knesset in Jerusalem on July 16, 2026, before the start of the election recess ahead of the October 27 general election. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP)
(FILES) Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session of the Israeli Parliament at the Knesset in Jerusalem on July 16, 2026, before the start of the election recess ahead of the October 27 general election. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP)

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks reelection, his main concern these days isn’t his political rivals. It’s some of his biggest supporters.

A series of small, pro-Netanyahu parties are competing in the run-up to the Oct. 27 vote. But instead of strengthening the Israeli leader, these parties — including hard-line blocs led by polarizing Cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich — risk weakening his chances for reelection by splitting the vote among Netanyahu’s base, The Associated Press said.

The election is largely a referendum on Netanyahu’s nearly uninterrupted 17-year rule and his handling of a turbulent period marked by mass protests, Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and nearly three years of war. A victory would mark a stirring comeback for the embattled leader, while a loss would likely end the reign of a man who has shaped Israeli politics for three decades.

With his legacy on the line, Netanyahu is imploring his erstwhile allies to unite into larger parties that have a better chance of entering parliament.

“When we unite, we win. When we split up, we lose,” Netanyahu told Channel 14, a TV station that serves as an unofficial mouthpiece for the prime minister.

Here’s a closer look at Netanyahu's situation:

Forming a government is tricky

Israeli voters choose between political parties, not individual candidates.

Parties that receive the most votes secure the most seats in the 120-member parliament. But any party that can muster just 3.25% of the vote wins representation. That means that more than a dozen parties can be part of any given parliament.

No single party has ever captured the parliamentary majority needed to form a government. Instead, a party leader — usually the head of the largest party — forms a coalition with smaller partners to secure a 61-seat majority.

Netanyahu currently heads a coalition of religious and ultranationalist parties.

The outgoing coalition faces an uphill battle

Opinion polls have indicated that Netanyahu and members of his outgoing coalition are facing broad public unhappiness as they seek reelection.

The government’s popularity has suffered following the Hamas attacks — the deadliest in Israel’s history — and the subsequent, inconclusive wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Now Netanyahu’s prospects could be further weakened by divisions in his hard-line base.

Two parties that ran together in the 2022 elections — Smotrich's Religious Zionism and Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power — have so far rejected Netanyahu’s calls to merge again due to rocky relations between the two men.

At the same time, smaller parties led by former members of Netanyahu’s Likud party and another list formed by a hard-line retired military general find themselves competing for the same voters. These parties are differentiated more by the personalities of their leaders than their ideologies.

Falling short of the threshold could be devastating for Netanyahu

If any of these smaller parties fail to enter parliament, their votes would be lost and Netanyahu’s reelection prospects dimmed. The failure of small parties to cross the threshold contributed to Netanyahu’s defeat in a 2021 election, while rivalries among his opponents led to Netanyahu’s return to power in 2022.

For this reason, Netanyahu has been urging his ideological brethren to join together into larger blocs. That would require some individual sacrifices but improve their chances of crossing the threshold and being part of another Netanyahu-led government. In a small boost for Netanyahu, one of the small parties agreed Wednesday to be folded into Smotrich's list.

The parties have until Sept. 8 to consolidate, pull out of the race or continue on their own. Their decision could seal his fate.

With time running out, Netanyahu has been stepping up his calls with increasingly alarmist language.

In his Channel 14 interview, he told a cheering studio audience that only he could defeat Hamas and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. He warned that victory by his opponents, whom he derisively calls “the left,” would be disastrous for the country.

“The left is ready,” he said. “If we don’t unite, we will lose.”