A gas condensate pipeline at a gas refinery in southwestern Iran exploded on Thursday after being hit by an excavator, but there were no casualties and the line was shut off, Iranian news agencies reported.

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Twelve individuals were injured, but "there were no casualties and rescue and operations forces are at the scene of the accident and have cut off the line," state broadcaster IRIB quoted the Parsian refinery's head as saying.

The semi-official Fars news agency carried a similar report.

Mohammad Asgari, a spokesman for the National Iranian Gas Company, said gas production was not affected by the accident, the semi-official YJC news agency reported.

Iran has the world's second largest natural gas reserves but production has not kept pace with galloping demand for heavily subsidized gas, partly because of lack of investment and foreign partners as the economy faces US sanctions.

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Officials in Abu Dhabi warned Sunday of possible diplomatic repercussions between the United Arab Emirates and Israel if Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg's decision to delay the implementation of a proposed oil transport deal, with the UAE isn't reversed.

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The deal between Israel's state-owned Europe Asia Pipeline Company and the UAE was part of the peace deal crafted between the two countries in September 2020.

Within the framework of the deal, Gulf oil would be brought to the Red Sea port of Eilat by tanker, then moved by the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline through mainland Israel to the Mediterranean port of Ashkelon, from where it would be shipped to Europe and beyond.

Green groups have warned the deal could inflict massive environmental damage.

Zandberg's intention to repeal the agreement was first reported by Israel Hayom last month.

In the wake of Zandberg's decision, senior officials in Abu Dhabi told Israel Hayom: "With the establishment of the government in Israel, we understood this scenario could unfold. This is an agreement that was signed after all the tests were done, and its annulment could certainly lead to an erosion of the ties being formed with the Israeli government and with Israeli commercial companies.

"Repealing such an agreement is absolutely a violation of all the mutual economic clauses signed within the framework of the Abraham Accords. Companies from the Emirates will think hard before doing business with Israeli state-owned companies, knowing there's a reasonable possibility that the signed deal will be annulled. We don't interfere in internal affairs and other countries' political matters, but it's clear to us that in this case [Zandberg's decision] to cancel the agreement stems from political considerations," the official said.

Another senior official in the UAE told Israel Hayom that Abu Dhabi doesn't intend on giving up on the agreement so easily, and that if need be, will petition an international court. "It's still too early to come to conclusions. We will speak with who we need in Israel to understand the significance of the decision to repeal the agreement. We put a great deal of work into this [agreement] and millions of dollars into the planning stage, not so we would give up so quickly. We'll study the decision and act accordingly," said the official.

As a reminder, Zandberg's predecessor, Gila Gamliel, began lobbying for the deal's cancelation immediately after it was exposed by Kan 11 News earlier this year.

"This deal must be repealed without delay," Gamliel said at the time. "This deal was signed without informing the Environmental Protection Ministry and without consulting its experts. The alarms are sounding and the government must spare no effort to prevent the next [environmental] disaster."

The agreement is opposed, as stated, by the former and current environmental protection ministers, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, the local coastal authorities, a forum of some 20 environmental organizations, scores of scientists and Eilat residents.

Zandberg said Sunday that she was determined the government would hold a strategic discussion about the deal, which would likely not contribute anything to the Israeli economy while threatening the coral reefs of the Gulf of Eilat and the resort town's tourism.

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The 1,900-kilometer (1,200-mile) EastMed pipeline is intended to provide an alternative gas source for energy-hungry Europe, which is largely dependent on supplies from Russia and the Caucasus region.

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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who attended the signing ceremony with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, said the pipeline will offer Europe "better flexibility and independence in its energy sources."

The pipeline would run from Israel's Levantine Basin offshore gas reserves to Cyprus, the Greek island of Crete and, the Greek mainland. An overland pipeline to northwestern Greece and another planned undersea pipeline would carry the gas to Italy.

Today, leaders @IsraeliPM @PrimeministerGR & @AnastasiadesCY signed the East-Med Pipeline agreement.

PM Netanyahu: This is a true alliance in the Eastern Mediterranean, adding to the security & stability of the region.

https://t.co/h53Zeji3OVpic.twitter.com/w56KOCQLYn

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) January 2, 2020

The project could also accommodate future gas finds in waters off Cyprus and Greece, where exploration is under way.

The project, with a rough budget of $6 billion, is expected to satisfy about 10% of the European Union's natural gas needs. But it is fraught with political and logistical complexities.

The race to claim offshore energy deposits in the southern Mediterranean has created new tensions between Greece and Cyprus, on one side, and historic rival Turkey.

Ankara has raised the stakes with recent moves to explore waters controlled by the two EU member countries. Cyprus and Greece are particularly disturbed because Turkey sent warship-escorted drillships into waters where Cyprus has exclusive economic rights.

Cyprus' Anastasiades said the pipeline affirms that Greece and Cyprus have sovereign rights in waters assigned to them under international law.

"This cooperation that we have developed ... isn't directed against any third country," he said. "On the contrary, whichever country wishes is welcome to join, on the understanding of course that it adopts the basic principles of international law and fully respects the sovereign rights and the territorial integrity of independent states."

Alluding to Turkey's stance, Anastasiades said cooperation is the only approach in an unstable region instead of embarking on a course of "self-isolation."

Netanyahu said Israel is set to become a "powerhouse in terms of energy" with its offshore gas reserves. He added that the three countries have established "an alliance of great importance" that will bolster regional stability.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades met today in Athens, in the context of the seventh trilateral summit. pic.twitter.com/nrMcZXbJdT

— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 2, 2020

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz has said the EastMed pipeline would take up to seven years to build and that its advantages include being less vulnerable to sabotage and not crossing many national borders to reach markets.

Cyprus is divided into a Greek Cypriot south, where the island nation's internationally recognized government is located, and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north backed by Turkey. The split followed a 1974 Turkish invasion after an aborted coup aiming to bring Cyprus under Greek rule.

Turkey doesn't recognize Cyprus as a state and claims much of Cyprus' exclusive economic zone as falling within its own continental shelf.

Turkey is also laying claim to large tracts under Greek control in the Aegean Sea and off Crete. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said no project can proceed without his country's consent following a maritime border agreement that Ankara signed with Libya's Tripoli-based government.

The Cypriot government has licensed Italian energy company Eni, France's Total, ExxonMobil and Texas-based Noble Energy to carry out exploratory hydrocarbons drilling in the country's offshore economic zone.

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The deal between Ankara and Tripoli carves out a corridor of maritime boundaries between Libya and Turkey, potentially clearing the way for oil and gas exploration there.

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Greece, which is a close ally of Israel, is at odds with Turkey over a host of issues. It called the accord absurd because it ignores the presence of the Greek island of Crete between the coasts of Turkey and Libya.

The Israeli government had previously made no public comment on the accord, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Greece next week to solidify plans with Greece and Cyprus to build a subsea pipeline to export gas from Israel to Europe.

Nicosia said that Netanyahu had told Cyprus' president last Friday that the maritime deal was to be condemned as "illegal."

Asked to confirm the Cypriot account, Katz said: "That is the official position of Israel. But that doesn't mean we are sending battleships to confront Turkey."

Katz, in a television interview with Channel 13, said that while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was an adversary, he does not think Israel or NATO-member Turkey was looking for a conflict.

"We have no desire, and Turkey has no desire for a confrontation with Israel," he said.

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The agreement will be signed in Athens on Jan. 2 by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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As currently planned, the pipeline will run across the Mediterranean from Israel's Levantine Basin offshore gas reserves to the Greek island of Crete and the Greek mainland, and then to Italy.

The deal will be finalized with Italy's signature at a subsequent date, Mitsotakis' office said. In May, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte had expressed opposition to the Poseidon project, which is the last section of the pipeline that would connect Greece with Italy.

Cyprus, Greece, and Israel already signed an agreement on the 1,900-kilometer (1,200-mile) pipeline earlier this year in the presence of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The EastMed pipeline is expected to satisfy about 10% of the European Union's natural gas needs, decreasing energy dependence on Russia.

The EU has contributed to the cost of technical studies for the project.

The three signatory countries are joined in a common opposition to Turkey's recent deal with the UN-recognized Libyan government delineating "maritime borders" between the two countries in the Mediterranean. Turkey and Libya are geographically far from each other, with Greece and Egypt being in the way.

The deal is seen as Turkey's way to pressure for a share in the maritime resources of the eastern Mediterranean, even if this means encroaching into other countries' space. Turkey, for its part, contends that Greece and Cyprus aim to confine Turkey it its narrow territorial waters.

On a visit Sunday to Cyprus, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was asked if the EastMed deal signing was an answer to Turkey's deal with Libya.

"What we're doing is not in reaction to anything," he said. "It's an effort to improve the quality of life of our countries' citizens, to improve our economies and to offer solutions, and EastMed is a great energy boost to the European Union's energy options.

"We don't see our initiatives as being directed against anyone," he added. "We see them as positive steps, and we invite whomever to take part as long as they agree with the wider framework."

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides, however, said there is a need to counter Turkey's recent actions.

"We have common goals and approaches and I believe that the proper framework is being created to counter the actions of some who wish to create conditions of instability in the eastern Mediterranean by violating international law," he said.

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