US denies brokering gas deal between Israel, Lebanon

Following reports that Washington agreed to a deal to export Israeli gas to Lebanon, the US State Department denies it.

By Zevi Pilzer, World Israel News

The U.S. State Department denied on Sunday reports of Washington facilitating a gas import deal between Israel and Lebanon.

“Media reports that the United States has brokered an energy deal between Israel and Lebanon are false,” the department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs wrote on its Twitter account.

Channel 12 reported Saturday that Israel will ship gas from its offshore Leviathan field to Jordan; from there it will continue to Syria and finally be transferred to Lebanon.

The arrangement is intended to provide Lebanon, which is suffering from an energy crisis that has caused long and frequent electricity outages, with an alternative to aid from Iran.

Lebanon’s Energy Ministry denied this report too, saying natural gas will come exclusively from Egypt via Jordan and Syria.