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September 16, 2021, Hezbollah today began transferring fuel donated by Iran and stored in Syria to Lebanon. Al-Manar TV, owned by Hezbollah, said a convoy of about twenty tankers entered Lebanon this morning. The trucks have crossed the northeastern region near the village of al-Ain and are heading south.
Lebanon is experiencing a severe energy crisis linked to the financial meltdown that devastated the economy since 2019. Fuel supplies have run out because Lebanon does not have enough hard currency to cover vital imports, forcing essential services, including some hospitals, downsizing or closing and causing numerous security incidents. Hezbollah has thus decided to import fuel from Iran.
This move, according to local press reports, has raised numerous criticisms because the Shiite party has operated as if it were a state within the state. To counter this move, the United States, a major supplier of humanitarian and military aid to Lebanon, has launched a plan to bring natural gas produced in Egypt to Lebanon through an oil pipeline passing through Jordan and Syria. The US ambassador to Beirut said Lebanon does not need Iranian fuel.
Nasrallah said a second ship with fuel oil will arrive in the Syrian port of Baniyas in a few days, with a third and fourth, respectively carrying gasoline and fuel oil, arriving shortly.