Iranian officials told a Lebanese technical delegation visiting Tehran on Tuesday that Iran could offer Lebanon 600,000 tons of fuel over five months to help ease its power shortages, Lebanese TV station Al-Manar reported.
If the fuel deal goes through, it would be Iran’s first supply of fuel directly to the Lebanese state after it previously sent some to its ally Hezbollah, a powerful armed movement that is part of Lebanon’s coalition government.
Lebanon has struggled with outages for decades but its economic meltdown since 2019 has drained state coffers, slowing down imports of fuel for government plants.
That has left most of the country with just one or two hours of state-provided electricity per day and forced households to rely on subscriptions to private generators that have skyrocketed as global fuel prices spiked.
Iran earlier this month offered Lebanon a “gift” of fuel in the specifications required to run Lebanese power plants, sources told Reuters, with no details on the type of fuel.
On Monday, Iran’s embassy in Beirut said the fuel ships could be in Lebanon within two weeks.
Local television station Al-Manar reported that Tehran had offered 600,000 tons to be delivered over five months. A source from the energy ministry confirmed the amount and said the deal would likely be finalized in the next day.
“We sent a technical delegation to Tehran and they are studying the details,” an energy ministry spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday.
Last year, Iran sent fuel to Hezbollah, which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and some other Western nations. That fuel was shipped to Syria and then brought into Lebanon in trucks in an attempt to avoid US sanctions on Iran’s energy sector.
The United States did not take any action over that last year. The US embassy had no immediate comment on Tuesday.
The head of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has repeatedly urged Lebanon’s government to turn to Iran for fuel to ease its energy crisis.
Iran ready to offer Lebanon 600,000 tons of fuel – Al Manar TV
https://arab.news/8t2q8
Iran ready to offer Lebanon 600,000 tons of fuel – Al Manar TV
- It would be Iran’s first supply of fuel directly to the Lebanese state if deal pushes through
- Tehran previously sent some to its ally Hezbollah, a powerful armed movement
Syrian Democratic Forces withdraws from east of Aleppo
RIYADH: Syrian Democratic Forces have withdrawn from positions east of Aleppo, according to SDF head Mazloum Abdi.
He announced Friday that SDF will withdraw from east of Aleppo at 7 a.m. local time on Saturday and redeploy them to areas east of the Euphrates, citing calls from friendly countries and mediators.
Hours earlier, a US military designation had visited Deir Hafer and met with SDF officials in an apparent attempt to tamp down tensions.
The US has good relations with both sides and has urged calm. A spokesperson for the US military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shortly before Abdi’s announcement, interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa had announced issuance of a decree strengthening Kurdish rights.
A wave of displacement
Earlier in the day, hundreds of people carrying their belongings arrived in government-held areas in northern Syria ahead of the anticipated offensive by Syrian troops on territory held by Kurdish-led fighters.
Many of the civilians who fled were seen using side roads to reach government-held areas because the main highway was blocked at a checkpoint in the town of Deir Hafer controlled by the SDF.
The Syrian army said late Wednesday that civilians would be able to evacuate through the “humanitarian corridor” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and then extended the evacuation period another day, saying the SDF had stopped civilians from leaving.
There had been limited exchanges of fire between the two sides in the area before that.
Men, women and children arrived on the government side of the line in cars and pickup trucks that were packed with bags of clothes, mattresses and other belongings. They were met by local officials who directed them to shelters.
* with input from Reuters, AP
