Regev Warns Netanyahu Israel Could Be Sidelined by New Regional Trade Routes

Transportation Minister Miri Regev sent an unusual warning letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, saying Israel faces a real strategic threat and growing geopolitical disadvantage. According to the letter, the recent agreement with Iran has left Israel with “tied hands,” while regional powers are quickly advancing trade and energy projects that deliberately bypass Israel.

Regev wrote that these developments are already taking shape in the region and are not merely theoretical. She pointed to a logistics cooperation deal between Saudi Arabia and Turkey that is expected to include a rail link through Jordan and Syria and be completed within three to four years. She also cited the “Gulf to Gulf” route in the south, which would connect Saudi Arabia directly to Egypt and on to Europe through Egyptian ports, and the “Development Road” in the north, a land network linking Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.

The minister said she is especially concerned by U.S.-backed efforts to develop infrastructure in Syria as part of regional stabilization, together with major Emirati investment in a Syrian port estimated at nearly $1 billion. In her view, these initiatives, if left unchecked, could push Israel out of the global trade map and weaken its national security and geo-economic standing.

Regev also criticized the Prime Minister’s Office for inaction and urged Netanyahu to lead a counter-campaign. She asked him to intervene personally and urgently with the U.S. administration and the Indian government, which she said has decisive influence over partners in the project. The idea of linking Israel to regional states as a strategic corridor has been discussed for more than 20 years, under different names and now as part of the IMEC framework, but little has been done on the ground.