Iran's fuel aid ship for Lebanon exposes real friend, foe: Lebanese parliamentarian

A senior Lebanese parliamentarian has censured Western and Arab states’ policy on providing Beirut with aid, saying the fuel shipments sent by Iran to help the Lebanese people expose true friends and foes of the West Asian country.

In a Friday call with Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network, the member of the Lebanese Parliament for the Strong Republic bloc, Cesar Maalouf, said the Zionist regime was the only enemy of Lebanon.

He added that the Israeli reaction to Iran’s aid ship was a violation of Beirut’s sovereignty.

Maalouf said Lebanon accepts any unconditional aid to its people and emphasized that Iran does not impose its conditions on anyone.

As Lebanon is grappling with the fuel crisis, it becomes clear who the enemy is and who is the friend, he said, adding the friend is the one who helps the country.

In an apparent warning to the illegal Zionist entity and the United States, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday the resistance movement would regard the ship carrying Iranian fuel for Lebanon and other tankers to carry Iranian fuel as Lebanese territory.

The ship will be carrying diesel since it is a top priority for the Lebanese people’s livelihoods, Nasrallah said, promising that it will be followed by other ships carrying more fuel. “We do not accept the humiliation of our people.”

“From the moment the ship begins to sail, [Hezbollah] will consider it Lebanese soil,” he said, warning the enemies against challenging Hezbollah on the matter.

Later on Thursday, a report by Iran's Supreme National Security Council said the fuel shipments sent by Tehran to help the Lebanese people have been paid for in advance by a group of Lebanon's Shia Muslim businesspeople.

“The Iranian fuel shipments which Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah mentioned today have been all purchased by a group of Shia Lebanese businesspeople, and they are considered their property from the moment of loading,” the report said.

The Hezbollah chief had already voiced willingness on a number of occasions to import Iran’s oil to counter Lebanon’s dire fuel shortage, in case the government fails to deal with the crisis.

On Sunday, he asserted that Hezbollah would “definitely” import fuel from Iran, and would do so “in broad daylight, not at night.”