ByJERUSALEM POST STAFFSEPTEMBER 10, 2026 01:57Argentina’s government announced on Monday that it will file a criminal complaint against Navitas Petroleum, an Israeli oil company, for operating in the Falklands.The announcement came from Argentine President Javier Milei’s office and included complaints against several petroleum companies operating in the area.According to the announcement, Navitas has been operating under the license of the United Kingdom's "illegitimate government," with the complaint aiming to "protect natural resources and safeguard the sovereignty of the Argentine Republic over the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and the corresponding maritime and insular spaces, as they are an integral part of the national territory."The status of the Falkland Islands is disputed between Argentina and the UK, with both claiming sovereignty over the territory.The complaint follows a January report by N12 News that Argentina reportedly delayed moving its embassy to Jerusalem because of bilateral tensions over Navitas’s plans to drill oil from a field near the Falkland Islands.Javier Milei at the Western Wall, February 6, 2024 (credit: WESTERN WALL HERITAGE FOUNDATION)Argentina: Navitas's plan to drill 'unilateral and illegitimate'The Argentine Foreign Ministry said in December that Navitas, along with partner British company Rockhopper Exploration, had not obtained the proper permits and that their plans were “unilateral and illegitimate.”The ministry warned of “potentially irreversible future consequences” if the plan proceeds, with both companies banned from drilling in Argentina for drilling without a permit.Argentine sources told N12 at the time that they considered the plan to be “the theft of a natural resource that belongs to them.”Mathilda Heller contributed to this report.Follow us on Google