ByNews Desk- The Cradle
The latest shipment of fuel to enter from Syria came just ahead of the Iranian FM’s visit to Beirut
الدفعة التاسعة من #قافلة_الوعد_الصادق والتي تضم حوالي ٦٠ صهريجاً من المازوت الإيراني عبرت من سوريا الى لبنان… pic.twitter.com/RGIl8oOVdq
— ثائر الدر 🇱🇧 (@thaeraldorr) October 4, 2021
The fuel comes as part of several shipments acquired by Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.
Last month, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah announced that at least four oil ships are headed to Syria’s Baniyas Port carrying fuel for Lebanon, in direct defiance of US economic sanctions.
Nasrallah has also announced that the majority of the first shipment would be donated to hospitals, orphanages, the Lebanese Red Cross, and other institutions in dire need of power.
Lebanon is going through a major energy crisis that can leave citizens without power for up to 23 hours a day. Late last month, authorities announced that the country’s fuel reserves were close to running out, forcing several power plants to completely shut down operations.
Amid this crisis, the country’s political elite have begun to lift fuel subsidies, alleging that the Central Bank can no longer afford to sustain the cost.
Besides this unpopular measure, officials have failed to secure a lifeline that could prevent the country from descending further into chaos.
A US-brokered deal was reached last month with Jordan and Egypt to provide Lebanon with gas and electricity. However, the plan calls for the use of Syrian infrastructure that is in dire need of repairs as a result of the Western-backed war that decimated the country.
Another deal was reached for Iraqi fuel despite the fact the heavy crude oil is incompatible with the Lebanese power grid.
As such, most Lebanese have welcomed with joy the arrival of the Iranian fuel, which is being sold at cost and has been distributed across the country since the first convoy arrived on 16 September.
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