Gulf Arab states hold secret talks with Israel on energy corridor bypassing Hormuz

Israel’s energy minister reveals Gulf Arab states in talks with Jerusalem for opening a land-based corridor running through Israel to circumvent the Strait of Hormuz.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel and several Gulf states have held a series of discreet talks aimed at creating an energy corridor through Israeli territory that would allow regional oil and natural gas exports to bypass both the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthi-threatened Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Israeli Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen told Israel Hayom.

The meetings have taken place in Israel and abroad in recent weeks, Cohen said. Unnamed Gulf diplomats confirmed that the discussions included both near-term arrangements using existing infrastructure and longer-term plans requiring the construction of new pipelines.

The US administration is also participating in the talks, according to the report, as Washington seeks to reduce Iran’s ability to use control of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as leverage over Gulf countries and global energy markets.

No participating Gulf governments were identified, and none has publicly announced an agreement with Israel.

One of the immediate proposals would use Saudi Arabia’s western oil infrastructure to send crude from the port of Yanbu, on the Red Sea, to Eilat.

The oil would then be unloaded and pumped across Israel through the Europe Asia Pipeline Company’s existing line to Ashkelon, where it could be loaded onto tankers bound for Europe and other Mediterranean destinations.

The longer-term proposal calls for new pipelines connecting Gulf producers to the Jordanian port of Aqaba and then onward to Eilat. From there, the oil could enter the existing Israeli pipeline network and reach the Mediterranean without passing through either Hormuz or Bab el-Mandeb.

“In my view, the Israeli route for a pipeline to the Mediterranean is the ideal option,” Cohen told Israel Hayom. “Unlike other alternatives that have been proposed, such as a route through Syria, Israel would be capable of protecting such a corridor.”

“In the long term, a route of this kind would lower energy prices by creating competition with other routes, including those running from Azerbaijan and Iraq to Turkey,” he added.

Cohen said the war with Iran had demonstrated that Gulf governments require alternatives not only for oil and gas shipments but also for broader commercial trade. He estimated that the development of alternative corridors could substantially diminish Iran’s leverage over Hormuz within four to five years.

The energy minister publicly floated a similar plan in July, saying he had proposed to US officials the construction of a roughly 700-kilometer pipeline from Saudi Arabia to Eilat.

“The Gulf countries do not want to be dependent on either Iran or the Houthis in Yemen when it comes to their oil exports, which are their primary source of income,” Cohen told Reuters at the time.

“If you create a land route, you bypass both Iran and the Houthis,” he said. “The best route is through the State of Israel.”

Israel already possesses much of the central infrastructure needed for such a corridor. The Europe Asia Pipeline Company operates a 42-inch, approximately 254-kilometer pipeline connecting the oil ports of Eilat and Ashkelon. The system can transport crude between the Red Sea and Mediterranean, although substantial new construction would still be needed to connect it directly with Saudi Arabia, Jordan or other Gulf producers.

Cohen discussed the broader regional project Tuesday with Greek Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou. Their conversation covered alternative energy routes, developments in the Middle East and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC, which was designed to connect India with Europe through the Gulf, Jordan and Israel.

The Israeli Energy Ministry said a Gulf-Israel-Mediterranean route would be faster and less expensive than competing alternatives. The ministry claimed the project could bring extensive infrastructure investment and employment to Israel while generating potentially enormous transit and commercial revenues.

The Israeli proposal is emerging as Gulf countries accelerate their own efforts to reduce their dependence on Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia is considering adding as much as 2 million barrels per day of capacity to its East-West oil pipeline, which carries crude from fields in the east of the kingdom to the Red Sea. Preliminary discussions have included the possibility that neighboring countries could also use the expanded system.

The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, is accelerating work on a pipeline intended to double the amount of crude it can export through Fujairah, located outside the Strait of Hormuz. The project is expected to become operational in 2027, although Israel Hayom reported that Emirati officials are seeking an earlier launch by the end of 2026.

Those existing bypass options remain unevenly distributed. Saudi Arabia and the UAE possess operational pipelines capable of rerouting substantial crude volumes, but Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain remain heavily dependent on shipping through Hormuz. Qatar faces particular exposure because nearly all of its liquefied natural gas exports must leave the Gulf by sea.

The urgency has grown as traffic through Hormuz remains far below its prewar level. Ship-tracking data recorded only eight vessel transits Tuesday, compared with approximately 130 to 140 daily crossings before the war began in February. Traffic through Bab el-Mandeb has also been disrupted by repeated Houthi attacks and threats against commercial shipping.

Israel is competing with several proposed routes that would exclude it. Those plans include pipelines running from southern Iraq through Syria to the Mediterranean, as well as corridors connecting Gulf oil infrastructure to Jordan and Egypt. Turkey and Qatar have supported some of the competing projects, while US and Qatari companies are reportedly considering investments in Iraqi and Syrian infrastructure.

An Iraqi proposal would carry oil from Basra to Haditha before dividing into northern and western branches, including a potential line to Syria’s Mediterranean port of Baniyas. Another proposed route would take Iraqi oil to Aqaba and then through Egypt’s existing Red Sea-to-Mediterranean pipeline system.

Gulf Arab statesPersian GulfStrait of Hormuz