A researcher at the Centre for International Studies at Sciences Po has warned that Israel’s expanding role in the Middle East’s gas infrastructure is granting it increasing leverage over neighboring Arab states. The analysis highlights that during the US-Israeli war on Iran, Jordan and Egypt halted gas supplies to Syria, exposing how dependent regional energy flows have become on Israeli gas. Egypt’s declining production and Jordan’s limited output have led both countries to rely heavily on imports from Israel, which now forms the backbone of the Arab Gas Pipeline network linking Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
The report explains that even when gas is imported as liquefied natural gas through Jordan’s Aqaba terminal, it mixes with Israeli gas within the shared pipeline system. This structural dependence was underscored when shutdowns at Israel’s Leviathan field twice disrupted supplies to Jordan and Egypt, forcing emergency measures. The researcher argues that such reliance allows Israel to wield political and economic influence, using energy as a tool of coercion and control.
The article concludes that Syria and Lebanon could reduce vulnerability by developing their own gas reserves, though doing so would require significant investment and political resolve to resist external pressure favoring continued dependence on Israeli energy.
Researcher at the Centre for International Studies at Sciences Po. Share At the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, reports emerged that Jordan and Egypt have cut off gas supplies to Syria. These reports appeared as minor details amid the shock of t
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