Lebanon sends delegation to Iran "to receive free fuel"

Two Lebanese government sources told Reuters on Wednesday that the country is sending a delegation to Iran to negotiate free fuel.

According to this report, Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador to Beirut, has offered the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati free fuel.

Iran has previously provided several shipments of fuel to the Lebanese Hezbollah group, which is backed by the Islamic Republic, over the past year. But the Lebanese government expressed concern last year about US sanctions in this regard.

Lebanon has been facing a power shortage for decades. But following the economic crisis in the country since 2019, the collapse of the national currency and the depletion of the country's foreign exchange reserves, the Lebanese government is unable to buy the fuel it needs and supply it with subsidies. As a result, fuel imports for state-owned power plants have faced difficulties.

For this reason, most parts of Lebanon have only one or two hours of nationwide electricity per day, and many Lebanese people use diesel generators to provide the electricity they need.

Two Lebanese officials told Reuters that Mojbati Amani had offered the Lebanese government a "gift" of fuel.

"We are trying to receive (fuel) as a gift, but not to be subject to (US) sanctions," one of the two Lebanese officials told Reuters.

After withdrawing from the nuclear deal, the JCPOA, the United States imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran's oil industry during the presidency of Donald Trump. Buying oil from Iran could be a violation of such sanctions.

Another Lebanese official told Reuters that Najib Mikati had presented the mechanism, as well as the specifications of the type of fuel required to launch Lebanese power plants, to the delegation.

According to the report, Najib Mikati has tasked Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayyad with forming a technical committee.

Reuters quoted one of the two Lebanese officials as saying that the delegation will soon leave for Tehran and discuss the issue of receiving free fuel with Iranian officials.

Previously, Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, announced his readiness to "provide free Iranian fuel" to Lebanese power plants, provided the Lebanese government agrees.

Source: Radio Farda