# The east Mediterranean gas partnership

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "The east Mediterranean gas partnership," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-east-mediterranean-gas-partnership/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's explanation for why the Greek government is solidly pro-Israel while the Greek public is solidly anti-Israel: Cyprus sits on an ocean of natural gas, and the Greeks, Cypriots, Israelis and, to a lesser extent, Egyptians lift it together and share the money. The arrangement drives Turkey to distraction, and in his reading puts Greek–Turkish relations on track to get worse.*

- **The resource:** "Cyprus is sitting on an ocean of natural gas"
- **The partners:** Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and to a lesser extent Egypt
- **The arrangement:** Lifting the gas together and sharing the money from it
- **Greek public opinion:** Solidly anti-Israel, because solidly pro-Palestinian
- **Greek government position:** "Couldn't get any more pro-Israel"
- **Effect on Turkey:** "Driving the Turks crazy"
- **His forecast:** Greek–Turkish relations "on track to get worse"

**The east Mediterranean gas partnership** is [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s explanation, given during the 2026 Iran war, for a divergence he treats as otherwise inexplicable: that the Greek public and the Greek government hold opposite positions on Israel.

Asked by a viewer whether Greek–Turkish tension would grow beyond its existing level, he said it would, and began with Turkey's standing in the war: *"The Turks are probably the most militarily powerful country standing in opposition to Israel. And the Greek government couldn't get any more pro-Israel."*[1]

## The divergence

Kiriakou treats the split as one of the odder facts about his ancestral country. *"The funny thing in Greece the the Greek people are solidly anti-Israel because they're pro-Palestinian. But the Greek government is solidly pro-Israel because Cyprus is sitting on an ocean of natural gas."*[1][2]

The mechanism is a shared commercial interest rather than a shared politics: *"the Greeks, the Cypriots, the Israelis, to a lesser extent the Egyptians, are lifting the gas together and sharing the money from it."*[2]

## Who is left out

The consequence he draws is about the country not in the consortium. The arrangement is *"driving the Turks crazy, but it's made the situation where as bad as things are between Greece and Turkey, they're sort of on track to get worse."*[2] He added that the war in Iran *"doesn't help anything at all."*[3]

The reading joins two of his standing positions: that Greek governments align with Israel for reasons the Greek electorate does not share, and that [Turkey and Israel](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/turkey-israel-confrontation), once close, are now the region's next confrontation waiting to happen. The gas is what makes the alignment durable enough to survive public opposition to it.[2]

## See also

- [A Turkey–Israel confrontation](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/turkey-israel-confrontation)
- [The referee in a Greek-Turkish war](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-referee-in-a-greek-turkish-war)
- [The Green Line in Nicosia](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cyprus-green-line)
- [Israeli property acquisition in Greece and Cyprus](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/israeli-property-acquisition-in-greece-and-cyprus)
- [Greek Intelligence Service](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/greek-intelligence-service)

## Sources

1. Regime Derange / DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou (2026-03-03), at 16:09. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75Fa5y2PaKY&t=969s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-03-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-regime-derange-deprogram-with-ted-rall-and-jo/
2. Regime Derange / DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou (2026-03-03), at 16:43. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75Fa5y2PaKY&t=1003s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-03-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-regime-derange-deprogram-with-ted-rall-and-jo/
3. Regime Derange / DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou (2026-03-03), at 17:13. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75Fa5y2PaKY&t=1033s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-03-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-regime-derange-deprogram-with-ted-rall-and-jo/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-east-mediterranean-gas-partnership/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt