Naharnet

Report: Fears of U.S. Sanctions after Nasrallah’s Bid to Import Oil from Iran

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s latest remarks about the party’s readiness to rely on fuel imports from Iran if the Lebanese state fails to take action, raised concerns of U.S. sanctions on the crisis-stricken country, media reports said on Thursday.

Since 2018, Washington has imposed sanctions on anyone who knowingly enters into deals with Iranian oil companies in order to buy, possess, sell, transfer or market petroleum or petroleum products from the Iranian authorities.

On Tuesday, Nasrallah said if the Lebanese state fails to take action, "we, within Hizbullah, will go to Iran, negotiate with the Iranian government... and buy vessels full of petrol and fuel oil and bring them to Beirut port.”

"Let the Lebanese state (dare to) prevent the delivery of petrol and fuel oil to the Lebanese people!" he said, adding, "We can no longer tolerate these scenes of humiliation."

Lebanon has been facing increasingly severe fuel shortages in recent months, with long queues at service stations and some drivers waiting more than an hour to buy even small quantities of supplies.

Describing the situation as humiliating, Nasrallah called on authorities to take a "courageous decision" and override their "fear" of the U.S. to import fuel supplies from Iran, a country under hefty American sanctions.

According to Paul Morcos, the head of Lebanese law firm Justicia, “American laws prevent the import of oil from Iran; this would expose Lebanon, if Nasrallah does what he announced, to U.S. sanctions,” he told Asharq el-Awsat newspaper.

On the other hand, MP Fares Soaid, head of the Our Lady of the Mountain gathering told the daily: “The danger of his speech is not in its literalism, but in declaring that the Lebanese state does not exist, and is not protected by law and the constitution, as if there is no president of the republic in Baabda."

Conflicting reports emerged Wednesday evening on whether or not the current government formation efforts have made progress.

Source: Naharnet


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/281982