Washington: Hezbollah’s import of Iranian fuel is a “public relations game”

On Thursday, the United States denounced a “public relations game” played by Hezbollah, which it recently introduced in Lebanon tankers loaded with Iranian diesel, warning that importing fuel from a sanctioned country would not solve acute fuel crisis in Lebanon.

Iran is preparing to send more fuel in the coming days in Lebanon, through Syria, for distribution by its ally without going through the institutions of the Lebanese state, in a repeat of the trial that took place in mid-September and once again proved that the Shiite party is the current decision maker in the bogged down country in severe economic and political crises

US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that “fuel from a country subject to numerous sanctions, such as Iran, is not really a sustainable solution to Lebanon’s energy crisis.”

Ned Price (archive photo from AFP)

Ned Price (archive photo from AFP)

He added: “In our opinion, this is a public relations game played by Hezbollah, and not an attempt by Hezbollah to find a constructive solution to the problem.”

“We support efforts to find transparent and sustainable solutions to address the severe energy and fuel shortages in Lebanon, “added the US spokesman.

Price did not clarify whether Lebanon would be subject to US sanctions due to shipments of Iranian diesel, only recalling that President Joe Biden is ready to lift the sanctions imposed on Iran if he returns to full compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal signed between it and the major countries in 2015.

The statement from the US spokesperson arrives in one moment in which Hussein Amir Abdollahian, the foreign minister of the new Iranian government formed by the uncompromising conservative president Ebrahim Raisi, is in visit to Beirut.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati criticized Iranian fuel shipments that entered his country without going through official institutions, expressing his belief that the way in which they entered in Lebanon would not have exposed him to US sanctions.

Mikati said at the time: “I am saddened by the violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty, but I am not afraid of sanctions, because the operation took place. in isolation from the Lebanese government “.

According to an Iranian official, it was Lebanese businessmen who bought the shipments of Iranian diesel that arrived via sea in Syria and then they entered in Lebanon via Earth in oil tankers.

Hezbollah has relied on the Amana Fuel Company for the distribution of materials imported from Iran, a company subject to US sanctions since 2020 because it is owned by a Hezbollah subsidiary.

Hezbollah’s introduction of Iranian diesel came in the midst of a severe fuel crisis in Lebanon due to the decline of its financial capacity to import and in the midst of an economic collapse in acceleration.

Lebanon has been suffering from a reflective fuel shortage crisis for months in various industries, including hospitals, bakeries, communications and food, in the midst of an economic collapse that has lasted for two years, which the World Bank has ranked among the worst in the world since 1850.

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