Lebanon: 33,000 tons of Iranian fuel oil, bought by Hezbollah, arrive via Syria
A gas station in Beirut, Lebanon, stormed on September 3, 2021 by motorists facing severe fuel shortages.
AP - Hassan Ammar
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The first tankers carrying Iranian fuel oil on behalf of Hezbollah are expected Thursday, September 16 in the eastern plain of Bekaa, Lebanon.
The Shiite party plans to welcome this shipment with great fanfare despite US sanctions on Iran.
Advertising
Read more
With our correspondent in Beirut,
Paul Khalifeh
33,000 tons of fuel oil, bought in Iran by Shiite businessmen close to Hezbollah, are due to arrive Thursday on the Lebanese market, which has known for weeks a
severe shortage
. The import of
Iranian fuel
was decided by Hezbollah without the approval of the Lebanese authorities, who were content to distance themselves from this initiative. It was criticized by politicians who considered that it exposed Lebanon to US sanctions.
But Washington has contented itself with expressing timid disapproval at a time when Lebanon's fuel reserves are running low and shortages are crippling swathes of the economy. Combining humanitarianism with politics,
Hezbollah
has decided to offer half of the cargo free of charge: 15 million liters will be distributed between September 16 and October 16 to government hospitals, orphanages, retirement homes and municipalities that wish. The rest will be sold at a lower price than the market.
At least three other Iranian tankers carrying fuel on behalf of Hezbollah are expected in the coming days in the Syrian port of Banias.
These quantities will relieve a relatively dry market, but will not be enough to meet Lebanon's needs for gasoline and fuel oil.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Lebanon
Iran
United States
Oil