Lebanon PM: Hezbollah's import of Iran fuel violates country's sovereignty

Najib Mikati says he is not worried about possible US sanctions "because the operation was carried out without the involvement of the Lebanese government."

Tankers carrying Iranian fuel arrive at Al Ain in Hermel in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on September 16, 2021.
AFP

Tankers carrying Iranian fuel arrive at Al Ain in Hermel in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on September 16, 2021.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said Iranian fuel shipments imported by the Hezbollah movement constitutes a breach of Lebanon's sovereignty, according to comments published by his office.

"The violation of Lebanon's sovereignty makes me sad," Mikati told CNN in an interview, his office said in a posting on Twitter on Friday.

He added, "But I'm not concerned that sanctions can be imposed" on Lebanon "because the operation was carried out without the involvement of the Lebanese government."

READ MORE: Hezbollah brings Iranian fuel into crisis-hit Lebanon

Dozens of tankers reach Lebanon

The Tehran-aligned group on Thursday began bringing tanker trucks carrying fuel from Iran, a move it says should ease a crippling energy crisis in Lebanon. 

A tanker ship carried the fuel to Syria and from there it crossed into Lebanon. 

Both Syria and Iran are under US sanctions.

READ MORE: Hezbollah vows to bring Iranian oil to cash-strapped Lebanon

Breaking 'American siege'

The energy crisis is a result of a financial meltdown since 2019, sinking the currency by some 90 percent and sending more than three-quarters of the population into poverty.

Fuel supplies have dried up because Lebanon does not have enough hard currency to cover even vital imports, forcing essential services including some hospitals to scale back or shut down and sparking numerous security incidents.

Hezbollah declared it had broken an "American siege".

Lebanon's financial system unravelled as a result of decades of profligate spending by a state riddled with corruption and waste, and the unsustainable way it was financed.

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