In the over two decades that an American-installed puppet ruled over Iran prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran and Israel maintained friendly ties. In 1968, the two countries
set up a joint venture known as the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co. (EAPC) to transport Iranian oil to the Mediterranean, primarily after Egypt
blocked the Suez Canal. This move hindered Iranian oil exports at the time. Iran was
already supplying Israel with the bulk of its oil prior to the formation of EAPC but did so secretly to avoid tension with the Arab world.
For about a decade, the pipeline carried Iranian oil from the Red Sea for export to Europe. Following the fall of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979, the Iranian leadership has been demanding their share of revenue and assets that remained in Israel, no longer a country recognized by the Islamic Republic.
According to
Business Insider, no one knows how much profit the EAPC has made or how much it is worth because it is protected in a similar way to Israel's intelligence agencies through the use of gag orders. The source of its oil, while suspected to be mainly from former Soviet states, is also protected by the gag orders. Even
Business Insider's report states that the article had to pass through the military censor prior to publishing. However, we do know that the EAPC has reportedly become the largest distributor of oil in Israel with ambitions to become a major hub in the Mediterranean.
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