BEIRUT: Hezbollah began bringing Iranian fuel into Lebanon via Syria on Thursday, a move the Shiite group says aims to ease a crippling energy crisis but which its opponents have said exposes the country to the risk of US sanctions.
Quoting its correspondent, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV said a convoy of around 20 tanker trucks carrying Iranian fuel oil had entered Lebanon. The Iran-backed Hezbollah has said the ship carrying the fuel docked in Syria on Sunday.
The trucks crossed into northeastern Lebanon near the village of Al-Ain, where a banner declared that Hezbollah had broken a “siege” on Lebanon.
“Thank you Iran. Thank you Assad’s Syria,” declared another banner, referring to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The energy crisis is a result of a financial meltdown that has devastated the Lebanese economy since 2019, sinking the currency by some 90 percent and sending more than three quarters of the population into poverty.
Fuel supplies have dried up because Lebanon does not have enough hard currency to cover even vital imports, forcing essential services including some hospitals to scale back or shut down and sparking numerous security incidents.
The decision to import fuel marks an expansion of the role played by the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, where critics have long accused the heavily armed group that has fought wars with Israel of acting as a state within the state.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Monday the ship had docked in Syria to avoid harming Lebanon and to avoid embarrassing some of its allies, an apparent reference to the sanctions risk.
Washington has reiterated that US sanctions on Iranian oil sales remain in place, but it has not said whether it is considering imposing measures against Lebanon over the move by Hezbollah.
Washington designates Hezbollah as a terrorist group and has also targeted it with sanctions.
The United States, a big supplier of humanitarian and military aid to Lebanon, is backing a plan to ease the energy crisis using Egyptian natural gas piped via Jordan and Syria. The US ambassador has said Lebanon does not need Iranian fuel.
Nasrallah has said a second ship with fuel oil would arrive in the Syrian port of Baniyas in a few days, with a third and fourth, respectively carrying gasoline and fuel oil, also due.
Hezbollah brings Iranian fuel into Lebanon, Al-Manar TV says
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Hezbollah brings Iranian fuel into Lebanon, Al-Manar TV says
- The decision to import fuel marks an expansion of the role played by the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon
Saudi deputy FM attends OIC ministers’ meeting on Somalia situation
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji has reaffirmed the Kingdom’s full support for Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, while strongly rejecting any actions that undermine the country’s stability.
Speaking at an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers from member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Elkhereiji condemned the declaration of mutual recognition between Israeli occupation authorities and the Somaliland region, describing it as a unilateral separatist move that violated international law, the UN Charter and the OIC Charter.
He stressed the Kingdom’s categorical rejection of any attempts to impose parallel entities that contradict Somalia’s unity and territorial integrity, or that seek to divide or diminish its sovereignty. Elkhereiji also reiterated Saudi Arabia’s support for Somalia’s legitimate state institutions and its commitment to preserving the country’s stability and the security of its people.
Elkhereiji called on the OIC and its member states to adopt a firm and unified Islamic position rejecting any recognition of, or engagement with, separatist entities in Somalia. He urged coordinated action in international forums to affirm Somalia’s unity and prevent what he described as dangerous precedents that could threaten the sovereignty of OIC member states.
He further called for holding the Israeli entity fully responsible for any political or security consequences resulting from such actions, and for rejecting any cooperation arising from the declaration of mutual recognition.
During the meeting, he also reiterated the Kingdom’s position on the Palestinian cause, emphasizing its centrality and Saudi Arabia’s support for efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. He said this would enable the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination and establish an independent state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
