Iran said on Monday it is ready to ship more fuel to Lebanon if needed, a day after the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said more vessels carrying Iranian fuel would sail soon to help ease the country’s fuel shortage.
“We sell our oil and its goods based on our personal preferences and our friend’s needs. In an online weekly press conference, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said, “If needed, Iran is ready to deliver fuel to Lebanon again.”
“Certainly we cannot see the suffering of the Lebanese people.”
Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah stated on Sunday that the first vessel carrying Iranian fuel to Lebanon, which the group announced was going to leave Iran last Thursday, had already sailed.
The fuel shipments to Lebanon were all purchased by a group of Lebanese Shia businessmen, according to Iran’s semi-official Nournews news website.
“We announce our readiness to sell fuel to the Lebanese government in addition to the fuel purchased by the Lebanese Shia businessmen, if the Lebanese government is willing,” said Khatibzadeh.
Hezbollah’s opponents in Lebanon have warned that the purchase could result in sanctions being imposed on a country whose economy has been in disaster for nearly two years.
US sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, reimposed in 2018 when then-President Donald Trump exited Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers, aim to cut its crude sales to zero.
US sanctions have also targeted Hezbollah, which was created in 1982 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
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