On February 11, the French energy giant Total came under sharp criticism from Israel over the company’s investment stance. Despite Israel’s growing role as a gas producer, Total decided not to invest in Israel for reasons it described as “complex”. Total’s chief executive, Patrick Pouyanné explained that they “like complex situations [. . .] up to a certain point” and that stakes in Israel were not big enough to accept the risks involved in investing there, “particularly in terms of competition in the region”. The French oil company is exploring, in consortium with Italian Eni and Russian Novatech, the gas field in Lebanese waters, a country that is arguing with its neighbor Israel over the delimitations of their maritime border. The decision was considered by Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s energy minister, as a “boycott”. Steinitz blamed the refusal on the ties Total has with the “tyranny and dictatorship” of Iran.