Source AFP and Naharnet – Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz met Sunday with a senior United States official seeking to defuse an escalating oil and gas dispute with Lebanon, his office said. A statement from his spokesman said Steinitz held talks with Acting Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield about conflicting claims to energy reserves off the coasts of Lebanon and Israel. Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that Lebanon was strong enough to withstand U.S. and Israeli pressure and to put Israeli gas rigs out of action. Last week Lebanon signed its first contract to drill for oil and gas in a pair of offshore zones, including one that Israel says belongs to it. Lebanese officials have said the whole zone belongs to Lebanom while Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has insisted it is solidly in Israeli territory. Sunday’s Israeli statement quoted Steinitz as telling Satterfield that “a diplomatic solution is preferable for both sides.” It added that the two agreed to meet again during the coming week. Satterfield also held talks on the issue with top officials in Lebanon.

Meanwhile work began on February 7 in Germany on four advanced corvettes for the Israeli navy “that will protect gas rigs and economic enterprises in Israeli waters,” the Israeli military said. It said that the “Saar 6” warships, to enter service between 2020 and 2022, would be equipped with helipads and advanced missiles. “Protecting strategic economic assets in Israeli waters is a priority for the state of Israel,” the Israeli navy’s website announced last week. In November, Israel installed a battery of its Iron Dome anti-missile system on a warship for the first time, calling it a valuable asset in protecting its offshore natural gas fields. Israel has major gas fields off its northern coast and is building valuable infrastructure to get the fuel out of the ground and onto land, all within range of Hizbullah rockets. Tamar, which began production in 2013, has estimated reserves of up to 238 billion cubic meters. Leviathan, discovered in 2010 and set to begin production in 2019, is estimated to hold 18.9 trillion cubic feet (535 billion cubic meters) of natural gas, along with 34.1 million barrels of condensate.

Munich: Lebanese Defence Minister Yaqub Al Sarraf said his country is prepared to defend itself if Israel launches strikes on its territory. Al Sarraf told participants at the Munich Security Conference he’d had “an Israeli drone above my head for the past 15 years” but that his country has “no belligerent intent” against anyone. But he says “we will defend ourselves” and that “we are for peace, yet we will not stand for any threat and we will not accept any aggression. Netanyahu said at the Munich conference that an international agreement with Iran has emboldened the regime in Tehran to become increasingly aggressive in the region. Saying Iran’s “brazenness hit new highs”, he held up a fragment of what he said was an Iranian drone shot down last week by Israel in Israeli airspace and challenged Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was to speak later.