Earlier on Thursday, a Lebanese newspaper reports that the first Iranian oil tanker that carries fuel for Lebanon has arrived in Syrian waters.
According to Al-Akhbar, the tanker has entered the Syrian waters on Wednesday and will discharge the shipment in one of the Syrian ports, and then the fuel will be transferred to Lebanon by tanker trucks.
The report says the shipment of the second and third tankers will also be delivered to Lebanon through the same mechanism.
According to the latest reports, Iran has dispatched three oil tankers carrying fuel for the electric power grid and gasoline to Lebanon.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that a deal was reached with Tehran to import a third fuel-loaded tanker to ease crippling shortages in the country. “The coming days will prove those doubtful about the shipments arriving with fuel wrong ... and our words will be clear when the first vessel reaches Lebanon,” he said in a televised speech.
He also said the country’s economic crisis was the result of an economic siege imposed by the US, stressing that the so-called Caesar sanctions by Washington on Syria had also harmed Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Hebrew sources said that Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah is at a state of alert in case the Israeli regime makes a miscalculation with regard to the ship.
Earlier on August 19, Nasrallah warned that Iranian oil tankers en route to Lebanon were part of the “Lebanese territory”.
Meanwhile, Iran Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh on Monday cautioned against any measure for targeting the tankers. He said neither the US nor any other country is in a position to stop legitimate trade between Iran and Lebanon. “We are very serious about exercising our sovereignty and everyone should know that legitimate trade in this sphere is one of the basic principles of international law,” he said.
Fuel shortages in Lebanon have forced businesses and government offices to close, threatening to cause blackouts at hospitals and halt transportation and other vital sectors in the Arab country.
MAH/ 5295110/PR
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