New Iranian oil tanker enters Lebanon
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A new convoy of diesel trucks entered Lebanon through the Syrian border on Wednesday, according to al-Mayadeen TV.
Activists posted a video of tankers loaded with diesel crossing the Lebanese-Syrian border on social media.
Head of the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc MP Mohammad Raad said on Tuesday that the decision to bring Iranian fuel into Lebanon is “a national par excellence decision.”
He added that “the decision of the Secretary-General of Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to introduce these fuels broke the siege, and confirmed the ability to resist national deterrence.”
On Friday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a TV interview with CNN that the entry of Iranian fuel shipments into the country constitutes a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
He denied that the Lebanese government had agreed to import the fuel shipments, and added in this regard: “The process took place in isolation from the Lebanese government, so I do not think that the Lebanese government will be subject to any sanctions.”
Lebanese MP Gebran Bassil stressed that if the Lebanese are deprived of fuel, “they have the right to obtain it from anywhere.”
Last week two convoys of tankers loaded with Iranian fuel arrived in Lebanon via the land border from Syria after the Iranian tanker unloaded its cargo at Baniyas port on the Syrian coast.
Last Thursday, director of al-Amana Fuel Company Osama Aleik announced that 65 tankers were being emptied into al-Amana tanks in Beirut, the south, Bekaa Valley, and the north, noting that the company will start distributing diesel to its beneficiaries according to the priorities set by Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
On August 19 Nasrallah announced the departure of a ship carrying fuel from Iran to Lebanon, noting that the second ship would sail from Iran in a few days.
In early September, Nasrallah said that a second tanker carrying diesel would arrive this month at Baniyas port, adding that the third tanker began loading gasoline, and it was agreed on a fourth ship carrying diesel.
Lebanon is witnessing a shortage of energy supplies, a sharp rise in food prices and the most severe financial crisis in its history.
The Central Bank recently announced the lifting of fuel subsidies, which aggravated the financial and economic situation in the country, while the World Bank described the crisis in Lebanon as the worst on the global level in a century and a half.