Alwaght- A shipment of Iranian fuel oil will be setting sail for Lebanon soon, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah said.
The shipment is a result of negotiations between Beirut and Tehran, arranged by the Lebanese movement Hezbollah.
Hezbollah leader said on Wednesday that further ships would follow to help the Lebanese people who are enduring crippling fuel shortages as a result of the country’s two-year-long financial meltdown, reported Aljazeera.
Nasrallah warned the Israeli and American adversaries that as soon as the ship sets sail, it would be considered Lebanese soil, signaling that any disruptions from the two will be reacted to.
“We don’t want to get into a challenge with anyone, we don’t want to get into a problem with anyone. We want to help our people,” Nasrallah said. “I say to the Americans and the Israelis that the boat that will sail within hours from Iran is Lebanese territory.”
He further said in a televised address commemorating Ashura, when Shia Muslims mark the death of the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson Hussein in battle in 680 A.D, “God willing, this ship and others will arrive safely."
The warning to the US comes from the fact that the US sanctioned Iranian oil exports after Trump illegal withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions.
The country has been suffering from a fuel crisis recently as it is already immersed in a financial crisis mainly caused by the huge explosion last August that destroyed the port of Beirut and parts of the capital.
It is locked in a political crisis, too, as it is yet to form a government. Foreign countries, mainly Saudi Arabia and the US are hindering the efforts to form a new cabinet through their minions, mainly Saad Hariri who earlier this month said he would not form government and stepped down as a PM-designate.
People have been protesting occasionally the corruption and the limbo they blame on "corrupt" political elites.
Fuel black market has been growing larger recently, with some storing gas and diesel to sell it for higher prices.
On Sunday, a deadly fuel tanker blast in northern neighborhood of Akkar killed at least 28 and injured dozens others. The tanker was near a petrol station where it seemed to have been stored for black market.
Sources suggested the explosion took place as the Lebanese army was distributing gasoline from a confiscated fuel tanker.
Protests erupted as people, already tired of the situation, wanted an end to the limbo that also affected public services.
