'Hizbullah Ship' Reportedly Nearing Lebanon as Another Sails from Iran
An Iranian fuel tanker is about to reach Lebanon and has become near the entrance of the Suez Canal, the Iranian Mehr news agency has reported.
And while neither Iran nor Hizbullah have officially confirmed the news, Hizbullah’s al-Manar TV quoted sources as saying that the tanker has become in the Mediterranean.
TankerTrackers, a global tanker tracking website, meanwhile showed that a second fuel tanker had left an Iranian port on Sunday for a yet to be identified destination while noting that a third tanker is being loaded with gasoline.
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had warned Israel and the U.S. against targeting the ships while noting that the vessels are not enough to resolve Lebanon’s fuel shortage problem.
Fuel shortages have forced businesses and government offices to close, even threatening blackouts at hospitals.
"We will continue this process as long as Lebanon needs it," Nasrallah said.
"The aim is to help all Lebanese, (not just) Hizbullah supporters or the Shiites."
Questions remain over how Iranian shipments of fuel could reach their destination. Since February this year, Iran and its arch-enemy Israel have been engaged in a "shadow war" in which vessels linked to each nation have come under attack in waters around the Gulf in tit-for-tat exchanges.
Source: Naharnet
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